


Pirates never willingly become heroes

by Sleepwhatssleep



Category: One Piece, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:00:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 56,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26527873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepwhatssleep/pseuds/Sleepwhatssleep
Summary: The last thing Ace remembers after regaining his memories, is that he was on his feet in front of Luffy, protecting him from a lethal magma punch, leaning on his brother for support as he whispered his last words of thanks with a hole in his chest, and Died.And now that he's in a world where people can get powers called quirks without the help of a devil fruit, he's not sure what he feels, but he does know one thing, he'll have to do his best to live his life freely.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace
Comments: 220
Kudos: 494





	1. Let's try this again

Ah yes, life is as fulfilling as it can be when you're a young baby growing up to become a toddler. 

Your life consists of eating, sleeping, and shitting and it's not necessarily in that order. No need to worry about being low on cash, no need to worry about homework that's due in an hour, and no need to worry about what to eat for your next meal. It's all planned out. 

Well, it _was_ all planned out for Ace. But like all wonderful planning, things _never_ go exactly as one hopes. 

It was when Ace was five, turning six soon, when his life as a pirate hit him like a sack of bricks. It was a grueling three days in bed, out by a fever that was so hot, one could fry an egg on his face. 

Ace doesn't know if getting another chance at life is a blessing, or a curse, but one thing he does know besides the fact that he _died_ and left _everyone_ he knew behind, _broke_ his promise to Luffy saying that he'd never die, is that he still hates shirts. 

Nevermind the fact that he's still five and has just recently recovered from a very serious fever, he doesn't, and will _never_ wear a shirt, you'll have to put it on his cold dead body if you want him to wear that suffocating piece of cloth. And is proven when he sees a shirt in his mother's hands within a short walking distance, and smoothly turns the other way and runs for his life.

" Why do you gotta be such a stick in the mud about wearing a shirt, Ace! " His birth mother, Kirishima Nanako, huffs in exasperation while looking at the still running back of Ace, who's currently heading for his and Eijirou's shared room door. 

" Relax honey, it's just a phase he's in. " Ace's other mother, Kirishima Yuki, laughs lightly, noticing their other son, Eijirou, too focused on the television showing red riot saving citizens to pay attention to anything else at the current moment. 

" But he'll catch another cold if he doesn't stay warm enough, Yuki! " Sighing in defeat at the fact that Ace ran for cover in his room from a _shirt_ of all things, makes Nanako worry about their child's future.

" He's fine honey, he's never caught a cold until now, so it might just be a one time thing, okay? " Yuki says, in an attempt to soothe her wife's mood. 

The topic wasn't touched on again due to Eijirou shouting in awe, at the discovery of red riot having merchandise on sale, and proceeding to drag the whole Kirishima family to the mall to buy said merchandise shortly after. And ignoring the fact that Ace was only wearing cargo shorts, with a unzipped sleeveless hoodie (which he was forced to wear courtesy of both his mothers), topped with boots and a hat that makes no sense style wise, the shopping trip was a success. 

\----

It was about a month after the twins sixth birthday, the day Eijirou woke up and discovered that he had a hardening quirk. Which Ace admits is a little cool, though he still doesn't exactly get how quirks work and all and he probably never will.

It's a saturday, two days after Eijirou gets his quirk, and has gone out of the house with mama (Nanako) for reasons Ace forgot, when his hands light on fire for no particular reason while he's sketching a map on his bed. It goes out quickly after Ace drops his things and stands in the middle of the room, not wanting anything to catch on fire. 

' _Will I still sink like a rock? '_ Is the first thought that comes to Ace's mind when he realizes that yes, he still has his devil fruit powers, though he doesn't get why they only started working now _._ ' _Maybe it's cause I was too weak to use my power previously. '_ Ace just shrugs his shoulder and tosses the thought somewhere to the back of his mind never to show itself again, and hurries out of the house after throwing a quick goodbye to his mom, and heads for a park nearby.

The park he arrives at is empty due to the location being too far from the mall, and to unkempt for people to even want to step anywhere near it. It's the perfect place for Ace to see if his powers are still his devil fruit powers, or a quirk.

He heads to a nearby pond, and without a second of hesitation, jumps into the shallow water with his eyes shut and waits for the feeling of his energy feeling sapped and become too powerless to move. But that doesn't happen, Ace doesn't feel like his sapped of strength when the water touches him, he feels the same as always, which makes him wonder, ' _Do I still have my devil fruit power without the side effects? '_ The mere thought of that makes the corners of his lips turn up and form a large grin on his face. 

" Oh this is going to be _fun._ "

\----

" I have to go to junior high school? What's a school? " Ace asks one fine morning when Yuki and Nanako are having trouble choosing which school to send the twins to at the dining table. Considering the fact that Ace subconsiously ran away from studies of any kind in elementary school, with the exception of art, it's no surprise that Ace doesn't realise that he's been in school for the for some time now. 

Without waiting for their mothers to fill him in, Eijirou jumps in and happily explains to him. 

" We're going to school to learn lots of manly things Ace! Like Math! " A look of disgust shows on Ace's face, " English! " At least English is something Ace knows how to speak from when he was a pirate, ' _Thank you, Marco. '_ He silently thinks, " And all sorts of other cool and manly things! " Ace swears he sees sparkles floating around his twin whenever Eijirou says the word 'manly'.

" You wanna go to the gym, Eijirou? " He asks as a diversion tactic, not wanting to hear his mothers lecture him about school grades or anything remotely close to it. 

" Really?! YES! Let's go! " His twin says in obvious excitement, taking hold of Ace and practically dragw him out the door throwing a quick goodbye to their mothers still sitting at the dining table.

\----

Surprisingly enough, middle school wasn't all that bad, the classes were easy enough to understand, and colour him surprise, he still despises math with every cell in his body. If he can, he'd like to chuck a hardcover math textbook at the idiot who found/discovered/made math, how dare that person subject Ace to this type of Brain numbing torture.

He'd rather fight a bunch of marines than deal with math.

Ace really wishes that his narcolapsey did not decide to show itself out of the blue one day while he was in gym class running laps. The amount of embarrassment on Ace's face after waking up and seeing that an _Ambulance_ came to the school is something that Eijirou will never forget for as long as he lives.

" You want to what now? " Ace asks, brain not registering what his brother just declared. " I said, that I want to get into UA and become a hero! So could you take the entrance exam with me? " Eijirou declares once more, excited by the fact that the entrance exams are coming up soon, and Ace does not catch the blush of embarrassment on Eijirou's face when he takes a swig of water after nearly choking on a too large bite of meat.

But Ace has got to hand it to Eijirou, deciding to ask his older twin to accompany him for the entrance exam during dinner is a good strategy, seeing as to how Ace is too distracted stuffing himself with over five servings of meat happily, and occasionally stealing some from plates within arm length, " Sure, I guess. " He replies with his focus not really on what he just agreed on and more on his food. 

" YES! THANKS ACE! " Eijirou exclaims happily while Yuki smiles at the two boys conversation, sitting next to Nanako hiding her laughter behind her hand, and failing _horribly_. 

" Don't be mean dear. " Yuki says softly, yet sternly at Nanako, " Can you blame me? Ace just signed up for the UA entrance exam without knowing it! " Nanako defends herself, laughter getting a tad louder at the ridiculousness of the entire conversation between her two kids. 

It was only at night, when everyone was in bed did Ace realise what he did " WAIT A MINUTE! " 


	2. Destruction and chaos is key to survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exams aren't fun when narcolapsey decides to drop by for a visit

" I hate you. " Ace grumpliy says, stumbling along the path with a his second breakfast for the day in hand, walking next to Eijirou who's laughing at his twin's misery.

" Brighten up Ace! It's the day of the entrance exams, of course we had to wake up bright and early! "

" You woke me up when the _s_ _un_ wasn't even up _._ " The older Kirishima throws a harsh glare at the other and says aloud subconsciously " Being a pirate is so much easier, no school, no unneeded stress, no needing to wake up in the morning for no reason at all. How I miss lying in the crows nest to take a nap every now and then. " Eijirou just brushes it off, not really phased anymore by what his brother randomly says every so often. 

Seeing the school ahead of them, Eijirou urges Ace to hurry up which makes Ace take a huge bite out of his three layered sandwich, grumble some inaudible words most _definitely_ not fit for a soon-to-be high school boy under his breath, and breaks into a sprint sending a well aimed kick toward Eijirou, who dodges it by a _hair_.

Not wanting to give Eijirou much time to regain his balance and launch his own counter attack, Ace stands from his landing spot on the ground, and runs right through the school gate, hiding from his younger twin's line of sight.

Hiding behind a pillar, Ace waits until Eijirou runs past him and enters the building before deciding that the coast is clear and his backpack and second breakfast for the day is safe. 

\----

" The written part of the exam was easier than I thought It'd be. " Is the first thing Ace says, when he meets up with his brother outside the testing area. " You do remember that there's still the physical part of the exam, right? " Eijirou asks, a brow raised at his brother whose stomach decided to make itself known by demonstrating a wondeful whale like sound. 

" I know, I'm just too hungry to care about it. " Slinging his backpack to the front, Ace opens up the zipper and takes out _another_ Sandwich from it, this time, instead of the filling being seventy percent meat and thirty percent veggie, it's _all_ meat. 

" Can we go now? " Ace asks, taking a bite of his third breakfast for the day, rolling his eyes half-heartedly at his twin's antics, Eijirou swipes one of Ace's light snacks (apple slices) from his backpack and brings them to the area where the briefing is going to be held. 

" You thief! That's mine! " Ace exclaims in horror, hugging his bag tightly to his body while at the same time, swiping at Eijirou's hands to regain his lost prize. 

" Not anymore. " Swallowing everything in the zip lock back whole in front of Ace's very eyes, the younger Kirishima laughs in glee as they enter the hall. 

Finding two empty seats next to each other in a hall crowded with students who are trying to find their own seats, is not as easy as one would think it is. It took the two boys a good five minutes to find their seats and settle their butts down after all the hustling and bustling, satisfied. 

" So, what do you think they're going to test- " Eijirou looks to Ace on his left, feeling excited and nervous for what the test may be, but stops when he realises that Ace's narcolapsey decided to stop by for a visit, so now he's out like a light with his half eaten sandwich in hand.

" Um, Is he okay? " A boy with blond hair and a black streak shaped like a lightning on it, seated next to Ace asks. " He is _alive,_ right? " The boy with black hair on the right of Kirishima asks as well, worried eyes looking at Ace who's slumped in on himself in his seat, practically dead to the world.

" Oh he's fine, he just has narcolapsey. " Eijirou says, already used to Ace sleeping randomly every now and then _everywhere_. " I'm Kirishima Eijirou, the one who's sleeping, is Kirishima Ace, my twin brother. It's nice to meet you. " He greets the two with a smile on his face. 

" Okay then, If you say so. I'm Kaminari Denki, it's nice to meet you! " The blond greets, shaking Eijirou's hand across Ace's slumped over body like it's a perfectly normal thing to do. 

" And I'm Hanta Sero, nice to meet you too. " The boy on the right greets back, shaking Eijirou's other hand happily. 

" So what do you guys think they're going to test us with? " 

\----

When the briefing ends, the students file out of the hall to board the different buses going to the sites they're assigned to. Kaminari and Sero decided to split from Kirishima after exchanging numbers with each other so as to stay in contact once the entrance exam's over. 

Shaking Ace by his shoulders, he announces " Ace, get up! I'll eat all your backpack food if you don't! " And like magic, Ace is up, and immediately stuffs his still half eaten sandwich that he's been holding for a while now, into his mouth without hesitation.

" Where's everyone? Isn't there supposed to be a briefing or whatever that's supposed to start soon? " Ace asks, looking around the now empty hall with slight confusion shown on his face. 

With a roll of his eyes at his brother's words, Eijirou pulls Ace by his wrist, up from his seat so he can stand and gives him a piece of paper that says which group Ace is in, and what bus he needs to get on to get to the site. 

" You slept through the briefing Ace. Anyways, all you need to do, is to just take down all the robots you see during the test. " He guides Ace to the exit of the hall with a gentle push of his shoulders, heading where the buses are parked.

" Okay then. " Ace says, completely trusting Eijirou's words without bothering to ask or clarify anything else. 

" I'll wait for you at the gates if you end later than me! " Eijirou says, heading for his bus that's going a different direction than Ace's. 

On the ride there, Ace gets distracted by his thoughts.

He thinks about his life before he got killed, his family of Whitebeard and the crew he left behind, he thinks about his _promise_ to _Luffy_ his **_baby brother_** the promise that he would never **_Die,_** that he wouldn't leave Luffy **_alone_** by _himself_ _._

And it hurts his heart that he really _did_ leave Luffy alone by himself, he left his baby brother to fend for himself the moment he said all he his thanks to everyone with his last breath, and then _died_ in his **_arms._**

And being alone, all by himself, is the one and only thing Luffy _hates_ , it's the only thing Luffy's been scared of for as long as he can remember. And Ace left him _**a**_ _ **lone** , _what kind of a older brother is he to have even _done that_?

Sabo would _kill_ him if he found out what Ace's death did to Luffy if he ever got the chance. 

His thoughts spiral out of control and begins to make him regret all of his actions and decisions he had made before his capture, he should've listened to Marco and at _least_ brought along backup when he ran off to hunt down that _traitor,_ how could he have fallen into that _traitor's_ trap so _easily_? He might as well have handed himself over to the marines on a silver platter. 

He regrets making his family go into _war_ all because of _him,_ the _guilt_ that continuously eats at his heart for the fact that the last conversation he had with Marco, was an _arguement_ , an arguement about him running deciding to run off by himself to hunt down that _traitorous bastard_ for what he did, who he _hurt,_ what he _broke._

His heart and lungs _hurt_ and _aches_ when he recalls the look on Marco's face that he managed to catch a glimpse of as he leaned on his baby brother for support, slowly _dying with a hole in his chest_ by a punch he got from Akainu that he protected Luffy from.

But, if he regrets his actions and decisions from when things started going down hill up to his death, it would mean disrespecting Thatch, one of the very few pirates aside from Marco, who had shown him kindness during that period of time he was challenging Whitebeard. The one who happily went and made large servings of food Ace would always request. One of the very first Whitebeard pirate who made him feel _welcomed_. 

Regretting everything would mean disrespecting one of the few people he respects and sees as an older brother, and Ace would _never_ want do that, not now, not ever.

He takes a deep breath in, and breathes out, he can't let his thoughts get to him. What he needs to be, is focused and have his mind present for when the test begins.

" Wait, " He mumbles, turning his eyes from the window, realising the scenery hasn't been moving past him for a while " when did the bus reach? How long has it been!? " Ace exclaims in horror to no one in particular, looking around the bus frantically, seeing no signs of life around him.

In the next second, he flies out the bus doors carrying his backpack and looks to the very large wall and _Very massive_ doors already open, the mere size of the doors looking like they could easily fit at _least_ 3 Kaido's at the same time.

" Shit! " He curses out subconsciously, apologising with a bow immediately after when he notices the teacher in charge looking at the backpack he's carrying in confusion. Breaking into a sprint, he begins his hunt for the robots the students are tasked to ~~immobolise~~ destroy. 

By pure sheer and stupidly good luck, Ace manages to run into a cluster of robots in his path and easily disintegrates them with his flames.

He may or may not have 'accidentally' burned the shirt that he was forced to wear by his mothers in the process. 

Oops.

Continuing his run, heading deeper into the fake city, Ace finally manages to find the other students that are in the same group with him. Funny thing is, they're not fighting robots like Ace figures everyone is supposed to do, they're _running_ to the direction Ace just came from. 

_Rumble, rumble, rumble_

The closer the students get, the more he feels the ground shake, each shake more violent than the last.

Behind the bunch of students who are running for their lives like headless chickens, is a _ginormous_ robot, taller and bigger than the surrounding buildings and _definitely_ way more powerful and destructive than the robots Ace had defeated on his way here. 

" That is **SO COOL!** " His eyes sparkle like stars at the mere thought of fighting something so strong and massive, and in the back of his mind, he realises he's behaving like Luffy does when he finds something _cool_ or _awesome,_ but now is not the time for such thoughts, so he chucks it aside for another time.

" WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! " One of the students who's running for their life, notices Ace running _towards_ the gigantic robot. Ace looks back and answers the student without a second thought, " Fighting it? " It's as if fighting _that_ is the most easiest thing to do in the world when he says it.

" But that robot doesn't even _give_ any points! " The student exclaims in horror at the thought of just going _near_ it, but his words come out too late, for Ace is already high up in the air with but a single jump, his right fist now turned into flames, arm pulled back and ready to hit the robot with that typical D. grin on his face. 

" HIKEN. " 

\---

" Hey Kirishima! How was the exam for you? " Sero asks, running into the boy on his way to the gates with Kaminari in tow, " Not bad, I managed to get quite a lot of points! " Eijirou answers with a grin, happy with the results he got. 

" Where's your brother? " Denki asks, looking around for any sign of the narcolaptic twin, " Late, but his group should be done right about- "

_Boooom_

A pillar of fire erupts from a distance, blinding everyone who sees it with the sheer amount of light it's giving for just a few seconds before it dies down and disappears completely, leaving only parted clouds in the sky as a sign of it's existence.

" Now.... " Kirishima finishes weakly, still partially blinded even if his arm had shielded his eyes from the very intense brightness, " What was that? " Denki asks, not really believing what he saw with his own two eyes. 

" That, " Kirishima says, " was my brother. " 

\--- 

" That was _too_ easy. " Ace says, disappointment evident on his face at the fact that the giant robot he thought was not going to be easy to defeat, got burned to a crisp so easily in a single move.

......Okay, he may or may not have lost control of the intensity of his flames when he made his move. ' _Weak body, I knew should've been fighting mountain tigers for training the moment I could._ ' He bitterly thinks, not liking the fact that his powers are not as easy to control as before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End me, I had a good three quarters of the chapter down and I stupidly closed it and I forgot to save AHHHHHHHH


	3. Food is essential for a happy stomach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naps come in a close second

" Ace, where's your shirt? " Eijirou asks the moment he sees Ace alight the bus with the rest of the students. 

" Shirt? Ah, right, shirt. It got burned? " There's no doubt that the excuse Ace just gave is _the most_ _ **flimsiest**_ excuse in the world. Okay, that's just exaggerating it a _tad_ bit much, but it's close enough. 

" You burned your shirt, but not your backpack? " Kirishima states, arms crossed and giving a look of disappointment to Ace from where he stands.

" I'm a pirate, I can be shirtless if I wanna be. There's no such thing as a _dress code._ " Ace mumbles to no one in particular with a roll of his eyes, taking out his mid day snack (meat) from his backpack begins to stuff his face in with all the elegance of a pirate. 

" You've already burned through five shirts in two days Ace! Instead of eating us out of broke, you'll make us go broke from replacing all the shirts for you burn through! " Eijirou jokingly says, feeling a sense of accomplishment seeing the look on Ace's face when the ~~ex~~ pirate thinks of how little he has accomplished in changing the minds of his mothers that him not wearing a shirt wherever and whenever he wants, is safe and will _not_ make him sick. 

Him getting sick was a one time thing.

" Whatever, lets just get going, moms making lasagna today, and I am _hungry_! " Ace proclaims, throwing the bone from his mid day snack into a dustbin nearby.

" Last one home won't be getting seconds! " Eijirou challenges, breaking into a sprint and running ahead of Ace, immediately increasing his speed like his life depends on it. 

" You cheater! " Ace exclaims in horror when Eijirou turns his head back to him and sticks out his tongue at Ace like a child. 

Seeing as they've been running for sometime now, and Ace hasn't overtook him at least _once_ , Eijirou feels that sense of dread he usually gets when Ace is about to do something stupidly dangerous and or reckless. 

" Look out below! " A shout from a voice he's all but too familiar with comes from above, he turns his head up and regrets it immediately. 

With the body of Ace coming down at him at the speed of a baseball flying at a hundred kilometres an hour, Eijirou's body switches to 'survival mode instinct', hardening itself and diving for cover _far_ _away_ from Ace's landing point. 

It takes a while for Eijirou's brain to process what just happened while Ace continues his run back home, excited to eat his mom's god level lasagna. 

" ACE! HOW THE HECK DID YOU EVEN GET TO THE ROOFS. " Eijirou shouts, chasing after Ace like a man on a mission, wanting answers to how in the bloody heck Ace managed to get up to the roof levels by himself. 

" I climbed the walls. " Ace casually answers, too far away by now to see the look on his younger twin's face when Eijirou processes what he said. 

\----

' _I need booze._ ' Ace groans internally, two weeks of seeing his twin pace back and forth in worry for the results of whether or not he and Ace got into the hero course, makes him really, **_really_** miss **booze**.

The two Kirishima's are in the living room, waiting for the letters from UA to get sent to their house. Correction, Eijirou is waiting for the letters, Ace is lying on the couch - shirtless as usual - body splayed out and in the mood for a nice nap.

" They're here! " Nanako calls out from the entrance followed with the shut of the door, Eijirou's body freezes in place, before running to their mama and taking his letter. 

Ace is already out like a light, so there's no hope there. 

Yuki throws a blanket over Ace while Eijirou runs to his room (the two stopped sharing a room, when they were in their second year of junior high.) The house is filled with tense silence as they await for Eijirou to tell them the results - with the exception of Ace snoring in the background.

" YES! Ace and I got in! " Eijirou exclaims in happiness, rushing out the door and crashing into Nanako and Yuki's arms for a hug. 

The amount of happiness radiating from the two mothers faces, is something that can easily make the sun jealous.

" HAHAHAHA! My boys are going to UA high school to train to be heroes! Wait till I shove it in my colleagues faces that they lost the bet! " Nanako proudly says, earning a look of confusion from Yuki.

" What's wrong Eijirou? " Yuki asks, noticing her son shifting his feet where he stands with his head bent down. " I was wondering, if could I dye my hair? " He says, embarrassed at how meek his voice sounds. 

" Of course you can! What colour do you want it? " Nanako asks, pulling her son in her arms and gives him a noogie. Only letting go when Yuki gives her a warning glare with all but her eyes. 

" Red. " Eijirou says, happy with his mothers permission. " Like your favourite hero? " Yuki asks, smile still on her face when Eijirou nods his head in confirmation. 

" Huh? What happened? " Ace, who has finally woken up from his impromptu nap, says blurrily.

\----

" You _cannot_ burn your uniform, got it? " Nanako says, taking Ace's food backpack which Yuki packed the night before on the counter and gives it to him.

" What if I _accidentally_ burned it? " 

" **No.** " 

" I'll just unbutton it then, it's still part of the school uniform this way. "

" You're not supposed to wear it like that! And leave your hat here! " 

" Never! " The hat their talking about, is a new one that Ace got as a 'congratulations for getting into UA' that looks identical to the one Ace had before dying.

Ignoring Eijirou who's laughing his ass off at Ace and Nanako's conversation, Ace puts on his boots, swings his precious cargo over his back, second breakfast of the day (fried fish) in hand, and meets Eijirou at the door, " We're off! " The two say, heading off for their first day of school.

" Don't do anything stupid you two! " They hear Nanako shout as the door closes shut. 

" You know she means you right? " Eijirou says, to which Ace doesn't respond to, not wanting to acknowledge what was said. 

He proudly puts his hat on his head and unbuttons his uniform completely, what his mother doesn't know won't kill her. 

The two walk in comfortable silence on the way to UA, Kirishima texting Sero and Denki about something, and Ace eating his fried fish contently. They arrive at the school gate without any trouble, and Ace already finished with his second breakfast and taking out his third (extra large chicken drumstick). 

" Oh wow. The door is almost pop's height! " Ace notes, taking a bite out of his third breakfast, staring at the extra long and _very much extra_ door.

Strangely, Eijirou feels at peace when Ace says that, maybe its because his excitement and nervousness has been at an all time high for a while now, or maybe Ace just has that sort of calming effect wherever he goes. 

Eijirou opens the door, and the two walk in. Immediately, all eyes are on them. 

" Kirishima! " A voice Eijirou knows - but Ace does not - calls out, making both boys turn to the source of it, " Sero! Denki! " Eijrou greets happily and goes to them, Ace - who's been left to himself - shrugs his shoulders continues to eat his food, walking to an empty desk so he can sit down.

He makes sure his seat is near a window that he can jump out of easily in case of an emergency, and the position of his seat, is next to a boy with red and white hair along with hetachromia eyes. 

" Hi! I'm Ace nice to meet you. " He greets, holding out his free hand for the boy to shake.

"...Todoroki Shoto. " He slowly takes Ace's hand and shakes.

" You are not supposed to be wearing the school uniform like that! " A boy wearing glasses, swinging his arms like a robot, says to Ace.

Like a wonderful person he is, Ace pretends to not hear the boy and takes another bite out of his chicken. " And you're not supposed to be eating in class! " He takes a bigger bite and chews his meat aggressively. 

Lucky for Ace, the door opens once more and two students enter the class, a boy with _green-ish_ hair with freckles like Ace, along with a girl who has brown hair. The robot-like boy leaves Ace and goes up to the two students to greet them. 

" So Ace, " Sero walks up to Ace with Denki and Eijirou says, noticing Ace who's starting to look like he's about to fall asleep, " what's your quirk? " 

The question in and of itself, brings Ace back to the land of the awake and his thoughts start going. 

' _I **still** don't know what's a quirk, is it something like devil fruit powers except you don't drown in water for getting powers? But my power is exactly the same as the mera mera no mi, and it's **definitely** **not** a quirk. Maybe I can call it something else, something that says it's not like a devil fruit power or a quirk, b_ _ut somewhere in between? '_

" Oh, Ace's quirk is that he's basically fire, it's super manly too! You remember that pillar of fire at the entrance exam that I told you he was the cause of? That was one of his cool moves! " Thank goodness he has a twin.

" That's so cool! " Denki says, eyes lighting up in awe. 

The bell rings and everyone takes their seat, save for the angry blond pomeranian who looks like he'd pick a fight with anyone remotely threatening and is someone Eijirou seems to get along with ~~(?)~~. 

" It took you eight seconds to quiet down, time is limited and you kids are not rational enough. " Ace feels like he should be offended, but then again, he falls asleep at anytime anywhere during the day without warning due to a wonderful thing called narcolapsey, so Eh. 

" I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota. I know this is sudden, but put on your gym clothes and meet me outside. " The yellow caterpillar man says, looking like the dead. 

\---

".....Why are you still eating? " Sero says after a moment of hesitation, looking at Ace who is still carrying his backpack and stuffing his face with a light snack (apple slices). 

" I'm not giving you any. " He takes a large apple slice, swallows it whole, and glares at Sero, daring him to take his food.

" Ace, where's your gym shirt? " Eijirou asks, noticing his very much shirtless brother among the class of properly clothed people. " There's a gym shirt? " In his defense, he actually forgot that the gym clothes do come in a full set. Shirt and all. He's been training shirtless until now, so it completely slipped his mind.

Eijirou let's out a very pained sigh. Placing his head in his hands. And for some reason, Denki and Sero can feel his pain. 

" We are going to..." Aizawa starts off, and Ace listens attentively.....Okay that's a lie, his narcolapsey decided to pay a visit and so, he fell asleep standing up, which made Eijirou hide him behind his back in fear of Ace getting scolded for disrespecting a teacher.

" Welcome to UA. " When Ace returns to the land of the awake, Aizawa has already finished his speech. Ace looks around him in confusion, wondering why his fellow classmates look so shocked, ' _Or_ _do they look scared?_ ' He wonders.


	4. Destroying everything in your path is not 'easy mode'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of school is always weird, and the second day of school is most definitely always weirder than the first

He was forced by Aizawa to wear a hoodie to cover body or else he couldn't take the tests. He's wearing the hoodie, but he is _n_ _ot_ zipping it.

Anyways. 

Besides the fact that everyone looks like their souls left their body, Ace will say that the atmosphere during the majority of the quirk apprehension test is _very_ weird.

And he doesn't know why, maybe it's because most of his classmates behave like their fighting with their lives on the line when doing the tests, or maybe it's the fact that he just wants to fight a tiger three times the size of him as a show of power because the tests are _extremely_ boring. 

Wait, scratch that. He's pretty sure at least one of his classmates will be taking half a step at deaths door if they fight a tiger three times Ace's size. 

" I seriously don't get how you can still eat at a time like this, yet _still_ do so well for all the tests. " Kaminari says, looking at Ace who's happily eating his snack (which is a slice of milk bread) without a care in the world. 

" What _are_ your results for the tests? " Todoroki, someone who has been observing the class the during the whole test standing next to Ace with Kirishima since the beginning, asks.

" Results? " Ace repeats, turning his eyes up to remember what scores he got. " If I'm not wrong, the fifty meter dash was 3.4 seconds, grip strength was somewhere around four to five hundred, standing long jump was easy as pie, and so was the side steps. Did I leave anything out? " He looks to Eijirou and asks, completely oblivious to the looks on his classmates faces.

" Nope. " Eijirou says, already accepting the fact that his brother is the way he is.

" Kirishima, you're up. " The twins look to Aizawa at the same time, Eijirou having a confused look on his face wondering who Aizawa is calling, and Ace eating his milk bread with a brow quirked up at their teacher.

" Right, I forgot there's two of you...Kirishima Ace. " Aizawa says once more, looking at the milk bread that Ace is still happily eating, to the backpack Ace is _still_ carrying around, and finally, to the orange hat on top of his head. Ace _seriously_ sticks out like a sore thumb with what he's wearing, and that's saying something. 

But it's not like Aizawa doesn't stick out when he nestled comfortably in his sleeping bag. And besides, he is most _definitely_ not paid enough to hover over Ace about the dress code rules till he follows it _(at least the boy's wearing everything he **should** be wearing),_ so he lets the matter go and passes the ball to Ace who takes it and stands in the middle of the circle. 

" Ah. I apologise in advance if I accidentally destroy anything. " Ace says with a bow to Aizawa, making Eijirou decisively take three steps back. 

" You guys might want to step back for this. " Eijirou advises, earning questioning looks from those around him. 

_Hooo_

He lets out a breath of air, eyes closed and all his concentration on the ball he is about to chuck into the sky without mercy.

" _Shinka: Shiranui_! " 

A lance made of flames appears in the hand holding the ball, covering it with his fire completely. He gets into position, one foot back and the other in front, the hand holding the lance cranks back, and Ace _hurls_ it into the sky with a gust of wind following suit.

The intense heat from the fire may or may not have burned the ball it was encasing into crisp a second before the lance hits _something_ that was in sky. 

And that _something_ may or may not have been burning when it fell and crashed onto a car parked near the school, and the car may or may not have blown up after. And now someone's called the fireman to put out the fire that's starting to slowly spread out from the wreckage.

" It's not as bad as last time. " Ace says with a shrug if his shoulders. 

The machine Aizawa is holding beeps to indicate what the result of the throw is, so he looks at it, and even the machine doesn't know what to make of it, just a question mark is shown on the screen. 

" What happened last time? " Izuku asks, knees shaking at the thought of how much worse the situation can be compared to what just happened. " He blew up a construction site by accident, there was no one there at that time, so there were no casualties. But there _was_ a dinosaur fossil the firemen and policemen discovered after the fire was put out. " 

"..." 

"..."

"..."

" How the fuck do you blow up a construction site by _accident._ " Bakugo says either with anger, rage, or surprise, Ace can't tell, the guy has a resting 'fight me!' face.

" By luck? " Ace answers, sounding more like a question if anything. 

The test continues on once the ball that got disintegrated by the fire was replaced. 

" Is his scarf floating? " Ace asks in the middle of a conversation between Kirishima and Sero, noticing the situation between Izuku and Aizawa and the fact that their teacher's eyes are also a different colour than before.

The scene continues as so, Aizawa saying something, Izuku looking offended/hurt by what he said, he then looks at the ball in his hands like he's contemplating all his life choices, he then throws the ball which flies _very_ high up into the sky, breaking a finger in the process. Midoriya turns back to look at Aizawa and says something which Ace is too far to hear and too busy eating potato chips to bother with. 

" THE FUCK WAS THAT DEKU. " The angry pomeranian shouts in very obvious anger, his posture looking like he's about to pounce on the boy and fight him. 

Ace honestly does not remember what happens next, he got too caught up in his thoughts about the past and how he thinks Luffy would react to a place like this, would he be amazed with his eyes sparkling like stars? Would he jump into a random fight for the fun of it? Would he drag Ace into the fight with him once he decides how fun it is? 

" Huh? When did we get back home? " Ace asks, looking around in surprise, was he really out of it for so long that he didn't even realise he got back home? ' _I really need to stop doing that. I also need to start working on improving my control on Haki soon._ ' He notes while his feet bring him to his room so he can take a well deserved nap.

The rise of the sun means a new morning, it also means that it's another day of school. Another day of wearing a shirt that he finds too uncomfortable and too restricting, a shirt he cannot just leave unbuttoned because it would be violating a dress code Ace doesn't really find it in himself to care about even though the shirt is _very_ uncomfortable.

Ah, he really misses the pirate life of being able to wear whatever he likes even more now. 

Bidding a quick goodbye to their mothers, the two Kirishima's are out the door and are now walking down the street on the way to school with Ace already halfway through with his second breakfast. 

The school day is as normal and boring as it can possibly be, ignoring the fact that Ace's narcolapsey hits him like a slap in the face once during science - the teacher just thought he fell asleep, and sent looks of disapproval at Ace for the remainder of the class after he woke up ~~-looks like _ **someone**_ didn't read the letter his mothers sent~~\- the day only got interesting when All Might showed up for hero basic training class in all his shining glory. 

" Change into your hero gear and meet me outside! " He says, pressing a button which makes the side wall open up and reveal slots that hold cases containing their hero costumes. 

Ace has got to admit, even if he doesn't really like heroes all that much due to how....marine-like they are, All might _is_ good at being a hero.

The class heads for the locker rooms to change into their outfits, and head out shortly after.

Everyone looks very heroic in their costumes, Iida looking like a futuristic knight who got lost, Uraraka looking like she's a hero from space, Eijirou looking very manly in his rock like costume no doubt inspired by his favorite hero, there are some questionable ones here and there, but it's fine.

And then there's Ace who decided that the weather is perfectly fine so he doesn't need to wear the top half of his outfit (a sleeveless open front shirt), wearing black cuffed shorts, a belt that's half done properly with a buckle with a 'A' on it, wearing black boots, and his newly bought orange hat to top it off. 

To put it simply, he looks like a shirtless ~~Zoro~~ cowboy who got lost in the wrong time period and doesn't known where the heck he is.

Ace doesn't really bother about what his classmates think of his 'costume'.

What bothers him however, is the fact that he feels _very_ incomplete without the jolly roger of the Whitebeard on his back, or the tattoo on his left arm that's also a tribute to _Sabo._ Even the area around his neck where he used to wear his red beaded necklace feels _empty,_ _naked,_ like his subconscious mind is constantly **screaming** at him to find what's missing and _fix it_ , screaming at him to feel more **_secure,_** more **_grounded,_** more **_whole_**.

But he can't do that, the beaded necklace that he wore was something Marco gave to him to commemorate them becoming boyfriends, _Marco_ Is the _o_ _nly one_ who **knows** what that bead necklace is made of and where they come from. So he can't just find a _feeble replacement, **he can't,**_ he can't just do that to Marco, he can't just trample on his and Marco's love by wearing a _fraud_. 

So he figures he'll never really feel complete for a _long_ while. 

" Ace, " Eijirou's voice brings his mind back to reality, he looks at his twin blankly, " let's get going, we're supposed to be in the observation room when the fighting starts. "

Acting like he definitely understood what Eijirou just said, Ace follows him inside and the first thing that catches his attention is the giant screen across the room wall that's showing the place where the fights will be taking place. 

" We can easily watch a nice movie with this. " He notes, a brow raised up at the thought of enjoying a nice movie with some popcorn to stuff his face with. 

" Battle Start! " All might announces into the microphone, signalling the start of the battle in the building. 

" Ah young Ace, it seems that you'll have to either fight on your own against someone who's already fought, or join a group and make the battle a three on two. What do you think? " All might asks, his ever present wide smile on his face. 

~~Wonderful give the sixteen year old boy unnecessary pressure why don't you~~

" If you don't mind, I could team up and fight with you later. " Tokoyami offers, which makes Ace happily bow to the boy in thanks, making Tokoyami extremely awkward from the sudden show of happiness and kindness from Ace.

The fights go as so, the 'Deku' and 'Kacchan' team went up and fought, the 'Deku' team won but their body conditions make them look like they lost, the 'Kacchan' team lost, but look like they won without breaking a sweat Conclusion? Ace has no idea who the heck in whitebeard's name 'Deku' and 'Kacchan' are. What kind of drama is even going on with the kids in this class?

Does he even want to know? ' _I think I'm good._ ' He figures, shaking his head softly in slight disappointment at the injuries the 'winning team' gained. 

Seeing the angry pomeranian not happy about his loss, Ace feels that fighting him and Iida is a _great_ idea. 

Tokoyami does _not_ think it's a great idea. 

" The fuck do you want!? " Bakugo aggressively asks Ace who doesn't even flinch from the sudden aggressiveness he's receiving.

" Wanna fight? " 

So some things happened, and now Ace and Tokoyami are fighting against a very angry Bakugo and Iida. 

" Do you want to guard the fake rocket-looking nuclear weapon, or do you wanna fight the 'heroes'? " He has no idea if it's because of his life as a pirate or what, but do all fake deadly bombs look like _this_? Or is it due to his lack of knowledge for a lot of electronics?

" If you don't mind, I'll take watch over the weapon. " Tokoyami says, standing near the weapon with dark shadow (Ace's eyes did _not_ sparkle when he met and talked to the cool bird shadow thing.) out and ready.

" Got it, then I'll see you later! " He says as he runs out of the doors and begins his hunt for his unprepared prey.

\---

In the observation room, everyone is silent, observing the last fight of the day. 

" Hey Kirishima, I have a question. " Asui asks, breaking the silence that has been there since the beginning of the fight. 

" What is it? " Kirishima responds looking at her, not wanting to see what's most _definitely_ going to be an unfair fight between his twin and Bakugo. 

" Why is Ace fighting with his backpack? " Asui finally asks the question that's been on everyone's mind the moment they noticed Ace didn't even put his backpack full of food down when he left to fight.

_Sigh_

" To be honest, I don't really know myself, he's been carrying a backpack everywhere ever since we were seven. I asked him about it once, but it didn't really seem like he heard what I said, and I didn't really have the courage to ask about it again after that. " 

The conversation didn't continue on due to an explosion strong enough that it shook the ground where they stood.

\---

Iida ran away from Ace's clutches, and seeing as how Ace can't really stop him due to the angry pomeranian aiming explosions at his face, he leaves the issue of the runaway prey to Tokoyami.

" _Enjomo!_ " 

Hence why he's made a ring of fire around Bakugo with a simple swing of his leg, not letting the ash blonde run away and give aid to his partner. With all but a war cry, Bakugo runs up to Ace with the intent to ~~kill~~ beat the shit out of him. 

He dodges with a low duck and sweeps a leg at Bakugo's, making the ash blond boy fall to the ground with a heavy thud. Even with his back to the ground, Bakugo isn't phased by it and aims his explosions to the ground beneath him to propel himself back up on his feet while Ace prepares for his next attack.

" _Jujika!_ " 

Ace crosses his fingers while Bakugo is still down on the ground, and when Bakugo is back on his feet, he releases his fire power and launches a cross shaped fire column right at Bakugo.

By the time Bakugo's brain catches up with what's about to happen, it's too late, he's already hit by the attack.

There's a small, short moment where nothing happens, it's pure silence for but a millisecond, and immediately, an explosion happens and destroys _everything_ in it's way.

\---

The building is no longer there.

But no one's hurt. So that's a good thing.

' _I've seriously got to work on my fire control. And Haki, Haki control is very important._ ' Ace thinks, sitting on the infirmary bed and grumpily munching on an apple he pulled out from his backpack. He's not injured, he can't get injured by anything really ( ~~ _we do not talk about sea stones here_~~ ). It's just that All Might thought the explosion of the building was a _bit_ worrying, so he sent the two teams to the infirmary leaving no room for them to argue.

" So how was your day? " Yuki asks when they get back home, seeing the happy Eijirou and a very done with the day Ace in the dining room. 

" It was the best! " 

" Eh, I've had worst days. " 


	5. Tears are never a sign of weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're only a sign of weakness when you cry while chopping onions

" What's with the bunch of people? " Ace says, nudging his head to the entrance of the gate, making Eijirou look in the direction but shakes his head and drags Ace who's eating a sandwich, hurrying his steps. 

  
" We're going to be late for class, if we take anymore detours Ace, hurry up! " Sadly for Ace, he gets stopped by the horde of people right after Eijirou manages to slip through and pass the gate.

" What do you think about All Might being a member of the teaching staff at UA? " One of the people questions, multiple microphones are shoved at Ace's face all at once.

" That he's teaching? " He answers, trying to be as polite as possible. 

" Any thoughts on All Might - the number one hero -being in UA? " Another person asks, with a camera getting up close and personal in his face.

" Ace, I'll see you in class! " Eijirou says, now noticing that the bell is ringing and Aizawa's walking up to the gates. _' If I'm late, I'm late. I just wanna eat my sandwich._ ' He thinks, bringing his hand up to take a bite out of said sandwich.

" Ah! " He cries out in horror when a cameraman loses his footing next to him and bumps into Ace, making his sandwich fly out of his hand, and land on the round. 

But the people surrounding him don't care about that, continuing to ask questions that they want answered, trampling all over his sandwich.

" So what do you think about All Might? Any thoughts you'd like to say? " Another person asks, microphone pointed at Ace, hope shining in his eyes.

And Ace has had enough.

Head bent down, wavy black hair falling to the front casting a shadow over his eyes, body tense and starting to emit waves of heat hotter than the average human body temperature. "....What do I think? " He repeats, words void of emotions.

The reporters fall into a silence after that, noticing that something isn't quite right. " I think I prefer Luffy stealing my food when it's time to eat over being surrounded by people who don't seem to know the meaning of the word 'space', stepping all over my food. Wouldn't you agree? " He tilts his head back up, smiling with his eyes closed.

His words are kind but the look on his face says otherwise. 

A shiver goes up their spines, and they immediately part like the red sea for Ace. Seeing that a path has opened up for him, Ace happily walks past the reporters and walks through the school gate, giving a nod to Aizawa and Present Mic who he passes by. 

When the ringing of alarms and a shutter like sound happens behind him, Ace doesn't bother to look back, he doesn't even need to use Haki to know that those heartless people won't be bothering him again for quite some time.

When homeroom rolls around, Ace is out like a light with the help of his narcolapsey making a quick pit stop. Using his arms as a pillow with his head down on the table and taking deep, shallow breaths, it makes it look like he's a dead to the world.

His unbuttoned school shirt stretched over his back, school jacket tied at the waist, necktie hanging on his neck not even tied, he sticks out like a sore thumb among the class of properly dressed students. 

Todoroki, who was surprised by the sudden thumping sound on his left during English, carefully pokes Ace's arm, trying to see if his classmate is still alive. 

" Kirishima. " He calls for the younger twin's attention, now moving to poke Ace's backpack lying on the table with curiosity, Ace's hat covering his face completely.

" What can I help you with Todoroki? " Kirishima asks, turning his body in his seat to look at Todoroki still poking his brother. 

" Your brother's not waking up. " Todoroki says, looking at the half eaten apple dangerously lying in Ace's hand that's hanging over the table ledge.

" It's fine, he just has narcolapsey. " Sero is the one who answers instead of Eijirou, noticing Todoroki who's on his left poking Ace with obvious curiosity. 

" You kids will be picking a class representative today. " Aizawa says, looking as _wonderful_ as usual. " I don't care how you do it, just tell me who it is by the end of the day. " And with practiced ease, he slips into his yellow sleeping bag, lies on the floor, and takes a nap.

\---

" Since everyone wants to be class representative, let's take a vote. " Iida suggests among the class of noisy students. " Wouldn't we just vote for ourselves if that's the case? " Kaminari asks.

" That's why we'll be voting for someone else rather than ourselves. " He says, pushing up his glasses with a finger. 

Everyone writes who they want as class representative on a slip of paper and drops it into a box placed in front of the class.

Except Ace.

" Shouldn't we wake him up so that he can vote? " Yaoyorozu asks as all eyes look at the still sleeping form of Ace.

" He's good, he doesn't care all that much about these kind of things. " Kirishima says, remembering all the times Ace has strongly (yet kindly), refused the position of class representative when they were in junior high. He still doesn't know the exact reason why Ace refuses, but it doesn't really matter as long as his brother is happy.

" If you say so. " 

" So the class rep is Midoriya, and the deputy class rep is Yaoyozoru. " Aizawa announces, standing in his sleeping bag.

" S-seriously? Seriously? " Midoriya says, shaking where he stands next to Yaoyozoru who looks away from him with her eyes closed, standing with poise " How vexing...." 

Later on, when homeroom is over and lunch comes around, Ace is up and awake the moment the bell signals lunch. He fixes his hat back on his head, swings his backpack on his back, and practically flies out the door, running straight for the mess hall.

" Ace! Wait up! " He hears the cries coming from the classroom but doesn't show any signs of slowing down.

He runs through the hallways, running past unsuspecting students like the wind, he accidentally bumps into a person on the shoulder, makes a quick apology with a bow, and continues running.

" _Ace_? " Is all the stranger says, voice so soft that it can pass as a whisper.

In the cafeteria, Kirishima and the rest of his friends finally caught up with Ace in the mess hall. The same Ace who is happily seated at a table and eating more than half of the mess hall's food, emptying plates after plates with rapid succession, piling up the towers of plates higher and higher, each tower looking as if they're about to fall over with all but a light breeze.

If there was any cursing thrown at him by Bakugo somewhere between his sixteenth and seventeenth plate, Ace never heard it.

When Eijirou, Bakugo, Denki, and Sero finally take a sit down with their food, Ace has already cleared two thirds of the food on the table. 

" How are you even able to eat so much? Where is the food even going? " Denki asks, amazed and yet slightly horrified at the amount of food going into Ace.

" I've been trying to figure that out for years, and I _still_ don't know where the food goes! " Kirishima says with a hearty laugh, patting Ace on the pack when he sees his twin choking on a bite too big. 

When the alarm suddenly rings saying that a level 3 security breach has happened and that all students should evacuate promptly, the students immediately run for the exit.

" Ace! We need to get going! Stop eating already! " Kirishima says, but gets dragged along by the sea of students to the exit.

When Ace is done shoving the rest fo his food and stands from his seat, there's only one or two people left in the mess hall.

" ACE! " a voice that feels familiar to Ace cries, making him look to the source of it in confusion. He gets tackled by a body and falls on the ground from the force of the collision.

His first instinct was to hit the stranger that just tackled him over the head, but then he stops when he realises that the person who's hugging him, knows his name.

The person crying against his chest knows his name.

_' Why is a s_ _omeone hugging me and crying? Why does_ _my heart ache hearing this person cry? Why do I feel like I'm imprisoned in a seastone cage, feeling so **powerless**? ' _He thinks, a thousand questions running through in head, but not one answer to them.

And when the person looks up at him, his breath hitches. 

Why does this person have the same eyes as Haruta? Why does this person look _exactly_ like **Haruta**?

Haruta. One of the few pirates he was closest with besides Thatch during his time as a challenger on the Moby Dick, the big brother who helped Ace get back at the little shits who were unwelcoming of his presence during that time period by pranking them.

Why is nothing coming to mind when he sees this crying face that looks _so much_ like **Haruta's**? Why is it this person _crying_ on top of him of all things? And why is the only thing that comes to mind when he sees this face, is the image of **Haruta** crying for him at **_Marineford_** as he watches him slowly _die_? 

His eyes sting, tears clouding his vision without his permission. And before he knows it, he's hugging back the shorter boy in his arms, crying his heart out, and he doesn't known _why_ he's doing it, why is he hugging this Haruta look-alike with all his might?

But all he knows, is that he's finally, _finally_ not alone in this strange, _strange_ world anymore. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was considering if I should continue with the chapter, or end it here, then I got lazy with continuing the chapter so this is what you get :)


	6. One step at a time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First step, learn to control fire power again

The two boys mumbled incoherent words for what felt like hours, sobbing turning into sniffles when tears could no longer be shed.

When Haruta's turbulent thoughts are finally calm enough amidst his sniffing, he breaks away from Ace, looking over Ace's body from his feet all the way up to his face, wanting to double-no-triple check that Ace really _is_ right in front of him, that he's not hallucinating, that his eyes aren't playing such a _cruel_ ** _trick_** on him.

And when he sees that smile, that oh so typical D. grin on that almost childishly freckled face, he knows that Ace really _is_ here, breathing, crying, _living_. 

He opens his mouth, wanting to talk with his baby brother, the youngest brother in their Whitebeard pirates family, wants to know what he's been doing until now " Ace! We've gotta go, class is starting soon. " Eijirou's shout for Ace cuts him short.

He looks between the two, but ultimately decides to leave for now. " I'll meet you after school. " His voice low enough that only Ace can catch it before patting his shoulders and heading off for his own class.

" Who was that? " Eijirou asks, but becomes worried when he sees the dried tear tracks on Ace's cheeks and the red trimming his eyes. " A friend. " Is all the older Kirishima says, rubbing away the remaining tears with his forearm. When he walks in front of Eijirou with a smile back on his face, he misses the look of suspicion that only briefly shows on Eijirou's face. 

So, Iida got handed the position if Class representative by Midoriya who said that what he did in the halls when everyone was panicking shows how exceptional of a leader he is.

" _When did that happen?_ " Ace whispers to Eijrou, completely lost. 

The bell rings, signalling the end of school " You can go home ahead of me Eijirou, I've got something I need to do first! " Ace says, the first one out the door even though he was the last one in.

He runs through the hallways, out the building entrance, and straight to the gate where he sees Haruta leaned against the wall, swords hanging on his waist.

" Haruta! " He exclaims happily, crashing into the shorter boy and squeezing the life out of him with a hug.

" Ace! " Haruta greets back, happily returning the long crushing squeeze with his own, the two boys too happy in their own little bubble to care about the students giving them weird looks as they pass by.

They talk for hours on end, Haruta filling in on what happened after Ace's _death._ He isn't sure if he feels proud for all the things Luffy's done, or cry when he found out Sabo _didn't_ die. 

" Pops and the rest of the crew are here. " Haraita says, the two are seating down in the abandoned park Ace trains in, " Seriously!? " Ace says, turning his head to the boy in disbelief. 

" Yup, even Thatch! " He happily informs, relief flooding through his body at the knowledge that with Ace here in this strange world, his family is whole once again. 

Sadly enough for the two boys, the day's already over and Ace has to get back home before his moms start getting worried.

"" We'll meet up here tomorrow after school. "" They decide before going different ways. 

The next day.

" We're heading out of school grounds for Hero Basic Training, so suit up and meet me outside in ten minutes. " 

Other than the fact that Iida's enthusiasm for being class rep deflated like a balloon (for reasons Ace will never understand) after boarding the bus, they head for the off-campus site in high spirits.

Ace is sitting next to a window seat, feeling the wind in his hair, drawing out a map of Alabasta from memory, remembering the country of sand, the princess who asked for his baby brother's help, of all the fun times he had with Luffy and his crew before parting ways. 

Him reuniting with Haruta is still fresh in his mind, and he's so caught up in his memories that he doesn't catch his name being called out by his classmates, smiling happily to himself until a tap on his shoulder brings him back to the present. 

" What? " He asks, looking around with confusion on his face, " We were just talking about Midoriya's quirk being a lot like All Might's, and how your brother's quirk can easily make him a great hero. " Asui fills him in, making Ace nod his head in understanding, 

" And _I'm_ saying that having a flashier quirk like Bakugo or Todoroki's is more pro-level hero quirks. " Eijirou says.

He raises a brow in question, " Isn't it fine as long as you save lives? " He hugs his backpack on his lap, tempted to distract himself with a sandwich right about now.

" Besides, wouldn't someone like Bakugo who has anger issues find it difficult to become popular? " Asui adds in, to which Ace agrees to, " Right, and his personality needs work to. " Denki piles on, making Ace snort.

And with that, the wonderful conversation turns into Bakugo aggressively picking a fight with almost everyone, and Ace laughing with joy at how fun it's become. 

" We're here, stop messing around. " Aizawa interrupts the delightful talking.

The bus stops and everyone gets off. 

And the second his two feet touch the ground, he notices something's not right while everyones focus is on space hero Thirteen. He senses malicious intent, he uses kenbunshoku Haki and feels the malicious intent all over the building, but he can't pinpoint the exact location it's coming from. It's too spread out. 

He senses are on full alert now but his posture is relaxed, he can't risk letting the enemy know that he's uncovered their presence.

" Eijirou, " He stands next to his twin, voice low but guarded, " stay close to me when we enter the building. " As extra precaution to make sure his cover isn't blown, he takes out a turkey leg the size of a large dog from his backpack and takes a bite out of it.

Eijirou follows what Ace says without questioning why, facial expressions the same as before but his body movements are stiffer.

They enter the dome building following behind Thirteen, faces expressing their awe with what they see, " It's like Universal Studios Japan! " 

" A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a wind storm, etcetera... " Thirteen explains, proud of her work. Ace multitasks, using his Kenbunshoku haki to observe the area and listening to Thirteen's speech.

" .....That is all, thank you for listening. " When Thirteen bows to the close like the gentleman she is, that's when then malicious intent increases two folds. Ace's eyes darken, he moves so that his body is in front of Eijirou's while everyone cheers for Thirteen. 

" All right then, first- " Aizawa starts but stops when all the lights go out, the malicious intent is now tenfolds what it was than when Ace first found it. He finishes his turkey leg, holding the bone in hand as if it's a weapon. 

His classmates look up at the ceiling in confusion, wondering why the power's out. That's when the malicious intent gathers at a rapid pace at the fountain in the centre of everything. 

The malicious intent gathers at one spot until a black swirl appears, that's when Ace gets hit full force with the sheer amount of ill intention coming from the thing. 

" Gather together and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students. " And even though Eijirou's been on alert, it's only now he notices the black wall which was once the black swirl. " What's that? " He asks in slight fear, seeing strangers walk through it one by one.

" Ace, what's going on. " Kirishima asks, connecting what his brother warned him about with what's happening now, which means this isn't good.

" Those are villains. " Is all Aizawa says, prepared to fight them off. 

" _Oh, things sure are getting interesting_. " The older Kirishima mumbles, weary of the new guests, yet excited for a good fight with the villains. 

" Don't move! " Aizawa shouts when Izuku and Uraraka take a step forward.

Ace stopped listening after that, twirling the forearm sized turkey leg bone in his hand while the class starts evacuating with Thirteen. 

The villain with the quirk that brought the other villains at USJ, makes his move. Ace tracks him down with his Haki and runs to the spot he'll appear at.

Bakugo and Kirishima launch their attacks, but fail when the villain reappears unscathed, that's when Ace decides it's a good time to drop on in. And by drop on in, he means appearing in the sky out of nowhere and clubbing the villain over the head with his turkey leg.

" Nothing beats a good old fight like a hit to the face! " He greets, D. grin on his face when he hears a resounding _thud_ when the bone passes through the darkness.

Finding that his bone has broken into two, he shrugs his shoulders and tosses it to the side. He cracks his knuckles, getting ready to fight. 

" Ace! Get out of the way! " He hears a cry from behind him, but doesn't give way, if anything, his Kenbushoku Haki is telling him to attack now, while his still got the element of surprise. 

He cranks his arm back, one foot back and the other in front, fist turning into fire as he takes a swing.

" _Hiken_. " 

A pillar of fire so blinding encases the villain and breaks through the dome ceiling straight into the sky, making everyone present stop in their attacks and shield their eyes from the blinding light.

If the sensors didn't go off before, then they will now.

Ace doesn't stop his movements even after his attack lands, he turns around and runs back to his classmates and Thirteen.

Funny thing, the shockwave from his attack sent the whole class flying into the air - in different directions, without any warning.

Oops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay here's the thing, I may or may not double post chapters due to human error, and I may or may not edit the chapters as I go. Bear with me :)


	7. How to see on the positive side during a not so friendly surprise attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And how getting distracted is bad

So, more than half the class has split up and are now fighting for their lives.

On the flip side, they're alive. 

The ones who were saved by Ace from flying off to their doom, are fighting off some villains at the current moment, except Iida, Thirteen (while doing whitebeard-knows-what to fight off the villains)had told him to run and get help seeing as he was the fastest in class1A and the three others agreed.

So, Ace being the wonderful pirate he is, grabbed hold of him and _threw_ him right out of the entrance (he did give a warning before he did it, plus, Iida landed without issues and the doors were closing so, Eh). " You guys good there? " Ace asks as he dodges a multitude of villains attempting to immobolise him and releases a less powerful Hiken immediately after.

After what just happened, he figures that letting out his strength at full power - indoors, might not be such a good idea, considering the fact that his control of his power is still....not very stable.

On the plus side, Ace found out that this surprise attack by the villains is a _great_ way to work on his Haki. Well, Haoshoku Haki is out of the picture, he _still_ doesn't have that much control over it and he doesn't really want _everyone_ to pass out by accident, but Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku Haki are good.

He stretches out his senses, being able to pinpoint where his classmates by a rough estimate as well as see how Aizawa's fight is going. 

How he hates that his use of Haki isn't as good before he died, he seriously needs to work on it once whatever _this_ Is, is over.

It's only after defeating all the villains at the top of the stairs, does Ace notice that Aizawa isn't doing so great. Well for one thing, his elbow is _crumbling_ by a simple touch from that blue haired villain.

The second thing he notices? Well, it's that the buff human looking bird thingy hasn't really done _anything_ since it's stepped through that portal. Oh, and Midoriya, Asui, and purple grape boy is by the side watching the scene.

And despite Aizawa telling the class to stay back, Ace runs right into the front line and engages in combat with the blue haired villain. Besides, it's not like Aizawa can stop him since he's preoccupied with being surrounded by villains trying to take him down for the count, so it's not like he can drag him to the staircase by his backpack even if he wants to.

" Ace! " He hears Aizawa shout as he dodges a grab to the face by the face hand villain and lands a knee on his stomach, sending the guy flying back.

" What? I can't hear what you're saying over the sound of me fighting! " Techinally, he's running towards the villain full on, but eh, close enough.

" You three might wanna duck! " He warns to the three teens still near the water, jumps high into the air and amasses a large amount of flames on his body with a swing of his outstretched arm around him.

" Enkai. " He starts, which immediately brings a sense of foreboding to Midoriya, Mineta, and Asui nearby, " You know, I've got a feeling this isn't going to end well for us if we don't take cover soon. " 

Still high in the air, Ace gathers all the flames to the palms of his hands and aims to the villain below him. 

" HIBASHIRA. " 

_BOOM!_

" Teacher! " Ace hears the cry of his classmate, Mina, from the top of the stairs where he left his classmates right before a resounding _thud_ sounds out.

' _How could she even get taken down? Didn't I defeat all those guys up there?_ ' The gears in his mind turns, not liking the current situation.

He stops thinking and spreads out his Haki when he notices that something's not right amidst the smoke and shockwave being sent out from his attack. 

" Well aren't you annoying. " He remarks, landing on the ground safely, a meter from his attacks impact point. The smoke and dust clear, the blue haired villain remains safe due to the weird thing that Ace noticed earlier taking the attack head on.

He's now in a stand off against it. Waiting for it to make the first move.

" Shigaraki Tomura. " The weird black smokey thing returns, appearing beside the man who's made his way back to the front of the fountain. " Kurogiri, did you kill Thirteen? " The guy - Shigaraki - asks, their voice levels high enough for Ace to listen in on even though he's _far_ from normal hearing distance. 

" I've put Thirteen out of action, but was unable to take care of the students, and one of them got away. " " Huh? " Shigaraki starts to scratch at his neck, getting more and more hostile the longer he scratches.

" Kurogiri, you....if you weren't a warp gate, I would've crushed you into pieces. " He stops scratching, " We can't win against a dozen pros. " Somwhow, those words hurt Ace's pride as a pirate, just a _tiny_ bit, even though they shouldn't

" It's game over. Man, it's game over this time. Let's go home. " Shigaraki hangs his head, ' _This time? Does this mean that there's going to be **more** surprises from this shittily dressed guy and warp man in the future? More fights I can use as training? _' He gets lost in his thoughts when they derail, only returning back when things take a turn for the worst.

Shigaraki decides to be a piece of shit by turning around, his hand going for Asui's face in an attempt to kill her with his quirk. 

He gets stopped by Aizawa who's finally defeated the villains surrounding him, though beaten and bruised, with very dry, red eyes aimed at him, stopping Shigaraki from using his quirk.

Shigaraki expresses his dislike for it, and the Nomu immediately runs for Aizawa, grabbing hold of him, and starts to brutally beat him up. While that happens, Midoriya launches an attack on the blue haired villain that makes contact, but it's not the intended target he hit. 

It's at this point that Ace gets pulled out of his thoughts and charges for the villain and weird buff-man-bird-creature thing. 

And boy is he glad that his narcolapsey hasn't decided to visit him so far. 

" HIKEN. " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, umm, I'm gonna be shifting around the order of when things happen at USJ. I've a test coming up in a few hours time and I'm deprived of sleep, so I'm gonna take a short three hour nap now, bye


	8. Is there a time machine somewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cause mistakes aside, Ace would like to warn his past self about when his narcolapsey randomly hits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wrote something ✨uncomfortable ✨ and as the one who wrote it, lemme warn you, I was very ✨uncomfortable ✨ reading it myself.
> 
> To give you the heads up on where the ✨uncomfortable✨ part is, ' ——' shall be your guide for where it starts and where it ends.

A burst from the entrance follows after Ace's attack hits his two targets, " HAVE NO FEAR, FOR I HAVE COME. " All Might announces, his ever bright smile replaced with a grim look.

So now that All Might has the attention of the still conscious villains, Ace decides it's a good time to take his classmates to a safer place, they are _definitely_ not in the right condition to continue fighting. 

" Let's go. " He says while his flames are still blinding the two villains ( the buff-bird-man-thingy which he _seriously_ doubts can see with its eyes looking all googly and Shigaraki) , he carries Asui in one arm, Midoriya in the other, and Mineta has no choice but to cling onto a leg. It's either that or attempt to keep up with Ace.

He's most _definitely_ not Ace's level of fit.

With a running start and a simple jump, Ace easily covers the distance between the central area and the entrance at the top of the stairs. 

He jumped very high and very far basically.

He went back and forth twice in total, the first time was for Asui, Midoriya, and Mineta, the other was for Aizawa. Their teacher was badly beaten and bleeding on the sidelines away from the battle, and so as to not further aggravate his injuries, Ace carried Aizawa to the entrance on his back.

" How's Thirteen? " He asks, setting Aizawa down gently on the ground next to Thirteen. " She's barely breathing. " Uraraka says, kneeling over their other teacher, worried for her, but has no clue on how to help.

Midoriya ran back down the stairs to make sure All Might was fine fighting the weird thing by himself despite his own injuries. 

" Let's stop these two from bleeding out first. " Ace says, earning weird looks from those present along with Aizawa. " Ace, _none_ of us brought a first aid kit, who even carries one around? " Sato, the sugar carrying teen, rhetorically asks.

Ace pulls out a small drawstring bag from his backpack and hands it to Uraraka, " Here, put the salve that's inside the jar on all the physical wounds and then cover them up with the bandages inside. Make sure you don't agitate the wounds when you wrap them. " 

"..." 

"..." 

"..."

Heck, even Aizawa's speechless.

" You brought a first aid kit to school? " Sero asks, impressed yet confused. " First aid kit? Why would I take that out of my room? This is a normal kit I bring with me everywhere I go, don't you guys carry around your own one's? " 

Now that's a flat out lie. Ace knows very well that he can't get injured by physical attacks, but try growing up while looking after Luffy at the same time for a few years, it's already ingrained into his very being to bring a small kit with him, _everywhere_ , no matter what.

" _No_ , what do you even _do_ to get injured enough to need _bandaging?_ " Sero asks, now worried for Ace with what he does in general. All he gets as an answer, is a shrug of a shoulder and a " Sparring. " half-heartedly thrown out.

" I'm going to go fight some villains now. " Ace says, not leaving his classmates or homeroom teacher any time to protest as he jumps off the top off the stairs and lands at the bottom with ease. 

The situation with the fight at the moment is not _exactly_ what Ace would call 'good'. The bird looking villain has All Might injured by its claw like hand buried in his sides in a reverse suplex position.

The warp man, as Ace had heard Shigaraki call him, seems to be the cause of the number one hero's pain, seeing as to how there's these two black swirling things on the ground where the bird-look-alike villain's head was _supposed_ to make contact.

" Higan! " Ace says without hesitation, his two hands - middle and index fingers out like guns - are aimed at Kurogiri, his fingers become fire and shoots out multiple compressed flames at a rapid speed.

——

The attack does it's work when Kurogiri gets hit and stumble which causes the portal to close abruptly. 

With the portal closed without any prior warning, the bird like villain got severed into two. Nevermind the fact that All Might's still holding onto the bottom half of the buff-bird-man-thingy's body (Ace can't tell if All Might is uncomfortable or blanked out), the top half is still _a_ _live_!

As in it's not dead/still/lifeless like the bottom half of it's severed body, it's supporting itself with it's only arm left so it doesn't fall onto the ground! It's very uncomfortable for everyone seeing this okay?! 

" I didn't mean for _that_ to happen. " Ace says on reflex.

And the weirdest and possibly most _uncomfortable_ thing to see - if you aren't Ace who's immune to a lot of weird things this far into his life - is that the top half is _regrowing_ it's bottom half. And boy does everyone who's witnessing this vomit inducing thing conscious, wish they had bleach to wash out and forget whatever the _hecks_ happening. 

——

" What? His quirk wasn't shock absorption? " All Might says shocked, and still a little out of it from the severing of it's body courtesy of Ace.

" I didn't say that's _a_ _ll_ he had. This is his super-regeneration. " There's a tone of smugness in the villain's voice and for some reason, Ace suddenly has this nagging feeling in him that makes him want to punch the living daylights out of this villain like child, he doesn't know why he feels the need so suddenly, but he's not against it. 

Right as it's finally done with that nightmare, a wave of ice appears and encases it's feet, which shakes All Might out of whatever shock he was in, takes out the claws ~~(?)~~ in his body and toss the legs and arm _far far away_ , and get back on his feet. 

" You cannot kill the symbol of peace so easily. " Todoroki says, stepping up next to Ace. 

" Oh hey Todoroki, I'm sorry about making you fly into the air from my attack, but besides that, how was the landslide zone with Hagakure, I hope the villains didn't give you two any trouble. " He asks, earning a _suspiciously_ stiff nod of the head from Todoroki, " That's good to know. "

While the two are still talking, Midoriya rushes to All Might to aid him with his situation. Kurogiri notices the boy and cuts him off on his path, already prepared to warp him away to who-knows-where.

That's when Bakugo shows up out of nowhere and blasts him up close, he pins him on the ground with what Ace calls his 'fight me' look but a more violent version, shouting " Move it Deku! You're in the way! " 

And while Bakugo has Kurogiri down, Eijirou shows up and surprise attacks Shigaraki, to which the villain dodges, making him move back, unhappy with not being able to show off. 

" Eijirou! Bakugo! How was the ruins zone? Piece of cake I hope! " Ace asks, the angry ash blond is able to handle himself well so Ace isn't so worried about him, but he's happy to see his twin able to handle himself quite well in unexpected situations.

Granted he was the one who caused the unexpected situation to happen in the first place, but who's keeping track?

Bakugo, ever the kind one, says his thoughts and how he knew he was correct about Kurogiri's weakness about his powers.

" Don't move! If I feel like you're moving suspiciously, then I'll blow you up. " Bakugo warns, his 'fight me' look turning even more hostile as he lets loose some small explosions from his hand that's holding the villain down. 

" His behaviour isn't very hero like..." Eijirou notes, which earns laughter from Ace.

" Nomu. " Shigaraki sing songs, making the thing move at last and break the ice encasing it. It stands at the ready.

" Stay back! " All Might warns, his hand against his wound not exactly looking too good to fight.

The Nomu, if Ace heard Shigaraki right, heads for Bakugo with the order to free Kurogiri and punches at him. The attack hits, but not it's intended target, it hit All might who threw Bakugo out of danger before the punch landed.

With everyone tense on what's going to happen next, Shigaraki launches into his 'speech' about how he hates the world and going on and on about things that Ace honestly lost interest in, one sentence in. 

" Please, If you think _this_ world is ridiculous enough, you should try being the son of the pirate king. " Ace quips subconsciously, rolling his eyes at the villain. 

" That plain one over there, he wanted to hit me with all his strength, and that hat wearing one wanted to burn me with all his might...." Shigaraki says, which makes Midoriya nervous and Ace throw the villain a 'so what, at least you're not dead' look, a brow quirked up as well. 

And right as the fight between the Nomu and All might starts, Ace gets hit with an untimely visit from his _dear_ _friend_ narcolapsey and drops right onto the floor.

\---

" Ace! " Kirishima exclaims when he looks to the source of where the _t_ _hud_ came from, knowing _very well_ that now is _not_ the ideal time for narcolapsey to say 'Hi'. 

The three others look back at the sudden shout from Kirishima, only to find the older twin out like a light for _no reason at all_ and they can't ask because the shockwave from All Might and the Nomu's attack blows them back. 

" W-wow! " Kirishima awes, still next to his brother to make sure he doesn't just you know, _fly_ off like a open umbrella on a windy day. 

They trade blows going around USJ for some time. And during that time, Kirishima, along with the help of Todoroki, carries Ace up the stairs to where the rest of the class is, with the exception of a few missing.

When the Nomu finally flies out of the building with a shout of " PLUS ULTRA! " along with a final punch from All Might, all of class 1A is amazed, well, all of 1A with the exception of Ace, he's still out like the dead.

\---

And when he wakes up while everyone's still in awe. Feeling lost on what he just missed but not particularly caring, Ace heads for his small drawstring bag resting next to the bandaged Thirteen and Aizawa, takes it back and walks back down the stairs. All of which without being noticed. 

" Put this on your wound. " Ace says holding out the small jar to All Might, knowing very well that he'll need to restock his kit once he gets back home.

" Thank you, young Ace. " The number one hero says, awkwardly taking the jar from Ace's hand, opens it and puts the salve on his wound. " As long as you don't do anything stupid that opens it back up, before recovery girl takes a look at it, you'll be fine. " Ace informs, nodding his head satisfied when he sees the salve doing it's job. 

Then they hear a gunshot ring out twice and Ace turns around to where the first shot hit, the first thing he sees is Shigaraki's bleeding arm, standing next to Kurogiri and then the two proceeding to escape despite the difficulty Thirteen gave them with her quirk, he's guessing the second shot hit one of the villains over at the mountain zone.

He then looks to where the shot came from and sees Lida and the principal along with a whole bunch of other heroes at the entrance, who immediately get into action and defeat the remaining villains all around USJ.

" I don't usually share my food, but since you _are_ the one who defeated the Nomu with a hole in your side, want one? " Ace asks, offering a bag of sliced apples for All Might to eat to replenish his energy. 

" Ah, I appreciate the offer young Ace, I shall take you up on it and eat these apple slices. " All Might says, taking the bag of apple slices and giving Ace back the jar.

" This is a one time thing, so get your own food next time. Goodbye. " Ace says, bowing to the hero after putting the jar back into the drawstring pouch and shoving the thing back into his backpack.

He heads off for the exit with a sandwich in hand, not looking back even when a bunch of loud noises happen without warning behind him. 

" Aside from the boy who broke his legs, no one else sustained any major injuries. " The officer whose name Ace has no clue what it is, says which makes the rest sigh in relief and a question come from Bakugo.

" What about fire boy here, didn't he faint just now? " To which him and Eijirou reply in sync " **He/I didn't faint, that's just narcolapsey** " Was it weird for the class to hear that very synchronized answer? Yes, yes it was. Does Ace particularly care about their response while happily enjoying his delicious sandwich? No, no he does not.

" What about Thirteen and Aizawa sensei? " Asui asks, worried about their wellbeing. " They are not as bad as they should be thanks to the help of that weird thing that was on their injuries, so they're not in any serious life-threatening condition. " The officer says, earning Ace weird yet grateful looks from the class, which he does not even acknowledge one bit.

It's barely been a week into UA high, and frankly, Ace doesn't know how Haruta hasn't rage quit pranked the whole school yet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, the chapter title and summary didn't match the chapter at all


	9. When the heart is free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the emotions are let out

" Ace! I heard what happened at USJ, you aren't hurt are you? " Haruta asks, running up to the meat eating boy as the class alights the bus. 

  
" I'm fine. Nothing can physically hurt me, remember? " Ace reminds, happy with the fact he gets to see Haruta _especially_ after such a weird day.

  
" Ace, what's holding you up? I just got a call from Mama that mom was worried about us after they got a call from the school about what happened. " Eijirou informs, standing next to Ace and wondering when the boy his twin was with in the cafeteria yesterday became so close to the point of first name basis. 

  
" Can you meet me at the mall once you're done, I've got a surprise for you that you'll be crying tears of joy for. " Haruta proudly says, seeing that Ace isn't exactly free at the moment. 

  
The two miss the suspicious look on Eijirou's face while they talk.

  
" Okay, I'll meet you after dinner. See you then! " Waving goodbye to Haruta, Ace and Eijirou head back home and right into the worried arms of Yuri and Nanako. 

  
" You didn't get badly hurt right? The villains didn't do anything cruel right? " Yuri asks, looking her boys up and down to check for any injuries they might be hiding. 

  
Eijirou getting fussed over more due to the fact he looks half dead from all the fighting he did. 

  
" Well, judging by the fact that he's happily eating his potato chips without any problem, I'm gonna say that Ace is fine. " Rolling her eyes, Nanako takes Ace's backpack and her eyes widens in surprise when she does, " You ate more than you normally did Ace, the backpack's already more than half empty even though we've packed a whole weekday's worth of snacks in it. " 

  
" All the fighting made me hungrier than I thought, sorry for the trouble. " Ace apologises, knowing well how much expenses go to his stomach to keep him full. 

  
" It doesn't matter as long as you two growing boys are happy. " Yuri happily says, smothering Eijirou in a hug then going for Ace who swiftly dodges and runs to the bathroom for cover.

  
" He's still as awkward as ever for family affection since the day he was born. " Nanako exasperatedly says, shaking her head as she heads to the kitchen to refill Ace's backpack. 

  
" Hey mom, " Eijirou says once he's finally free from Yuri's hold, " I think I'm going to go to bed early today, all that fighting's made me exhausted. " The tone of his voice says otherwise, but Yuki and Nanako give him the benefit of the doubt and just pass it off as the adrenaline talking instead.

" Alright, sweet dreams dear. I'll leave some apple slices in the fridge in case you get hungry tonight. " Yuki says, ruffling Eijirou's spikey hair and giving him a kiss on the forehead before sending him off to bed.

" I'm off! " Ace calls the moment dinner is done and he's washed his plate, " So late? Do you at least have your backpack with you in case you get hungry? " Nanako asks, looking over at Ace from her spot on the couch in the living room, the television showing a news channel talking about the USJ attack.

" Yup! I'll be back late! " Ace yells right as the door closes. 

Free from the confines of his uniform, Ace has left the house shirtless, the only articles of clothing on his body are the black shorts he has on, and the boots that he has had for as long as he can remember. His trademark hat is on his head and his backpack on his back, he rushes out the premises of his house and is off to the mall.

" Haruta! " Ace calls when he sees that familiar mop of hair in the distance, he hastens his steps the more the excitement and happiness he feels build up in his chest at the fact that Haruta, his big brother, really is here. He's probably never going to get over that fact, but he's not mad about it. 

" Ace! " Haruta greets, running over to the teen and crushing him in a hug, " You're late. " Is the first thing he says once he releases Ace from his hold. " At least I'm here. " Ace retorts, grin on his face at the friendly tone in Haruta's words.

" Nevermind, come on, let's go! We're already behind schedule as it is. " Haruta says, dragging Ace by the arm and making their way through the crowd and out of the mall. 

" Where are we going? " Ace looks around the unfamiliar street with curiosity while still being dragged by Haruta to a mansion which has doors _w_ _ay_ taller and bigger than both of them combined.

" ...That's _definitely_ big enough for Pops to fit through! " Ace notes in awe, as he stares up at the doors with wide eyes. 

_knock knock knock_

Haruta knocks on the door three times in a specific rhythm, and stands back with Ace, clearly waiting for _something_ to happen.

It isn't long before the door opens up at a slow and steady speed, which no doubt makes for very effective dramatics.

" Hey Deuce! I see your mission in the city over was a success. " Haruta greets, seeing the blue haired masked man standing behind the door, and it's someone who Ace is _very_ familiar with. 

" Deuce..." Ace softly says, his voice blocking up, feeling constricted as his eyes tear up from the mere recollection of all the memories and adventures he's made with this very man he met in South Blue as a pirate.

The man looks at him, first in confusion, then in shock when he recognises the familiar face of the teen he's traveled across the seas with as a crewmate. His face floods into one of relief as his tear ducts begin to work overtime and a river begins to flow down his cheeks.

" _ACE!_ " Deuce barely contains his whisper when he exclaims in pure, _pure happiness,_ happy that his crewmate is here, happy that he's _alive_ , happy to see Ace looking so _healthy,_ happy that he's reunited with his ex-captain at long, _long_ last.

It takes a while for the tears to stop flowing while he hugs the teen, and even then, Deuce just can't seem to wipe that goofy smile off his face the longer he looks at Ace and how well the boy seems to be. 

And when he turns his eyes and sees Haruta, immediately, he remembers where he is and where they are, so he stands straight once more and awkwardly coughs into his hand.

" Come on, I've got to let everyone know that you're here! " With a nod of acknowledgement from Deuce and a point at which way to go, Haruta guides Ace by the shoulders, through the huge room full of familiar long lost faces, and up a flight of stairs, heading straight for the biggest and strongest looking door on the floor.

Haruta doesn't even miss a beat as he kicks the door down with full force and marches right into the room with all the grace of a pirate who's the commander of the twelfth division. 

" POPS! " He greets with a smile on his face. Innocent looking - though the beaten and bruised door flapping about sadly behind him says otherwise.

" Haruta, you know I love you as a brother and for all that's good in the world, but why, oh _why_ do you have to kick down the door _every single time_ you come in. " Izou asks, kneading his temple with two fingers, seated next to Thatch.

" Becuase that's the fastest and most effective way for me to see pops, what else? " Haruta responds, shrugging his shoulders as he looks behind and sees Ace frozen in place. 

Ace, who has been in the same position since he saw the familiar faces inside. His backpack had slipped from his shoulders and dropped to the ground with a resounding _thud_.

Pops, who still looks as big, strong, and kind as Ace remembers, his eyes shining with kindness and his smile somehow even kinder as he looks down at his two sons arguing and he laughs that unique laughter which Ace loves and recognizes no matter where.

Izou, who's still wearing whatever he deems to be fashionable or beautiful, still carrying around a fan wherever he goes no matter if weather was hot or cold, rain or shine, looking as regal and put together as ever.

Thatch, this pompadour styled chef who's always laughing with joy and a smile on his face as he cooks food with each and every crew members in the Whitebeard family's favourite food in mind with ease, always exuding calmness without fail.

And _Marco_ , the pineapple haired commander of the first division, the one who's his boyfriend, the one who he's been with for as long as he's been on the Moby Dick. The one and only guy he loves romantically and never wants to part from, the one he _l_ _eft behind_ in his rage to track down that _b_ _astard_ , the one who his heart _bleeds_ for when he recalls the fact that his one true love, had watched him _d_ _ie_ in his baby brother's hold, unable to do anything for it was too late and the damage was already done.

Silence fills the air when the four pirates recognise who's by the door close behind Haruta. No one speaks, all barely breathing, too absorbed in their own thoughts and feelings as their eyes stay on Ace.

" _A-Ace?_ " Marco's the first to break the silence, stumbling slightly as he stands from his seat and walks towards Ace, " Is it r-really you, yoi? " He asks, _hating_ the fact that he stumbles on his words once again for every step that brings him closer he to the teen.

All he gets from Ace, is a shaky nod of his head.

But that's all it takes before the questions start tumbling out without fail.

" This isn't a joke, right? You're really here, right? " He asks once more, hope rising in his chest along with the feelings of sadness and helplessness that he's been harboring ever since he lost Ace in the war. The war that broke their family _apart_ , the war that made him lose his **one true love, _forever_**.

He finally stops in his tracks, one small step away from hugging the life right out of the one in front of him with all his heart.

" It's me Marco, _I'm back._ " Ace reconfirms, softly, hesitantly yet hopefully holding his arms out for a hug, a hug which Marco happily gives the teen as he wraps his arms around Ace's body and finally lets out his emotions.

Crying onto the boy's shoulder while Ace does the same against his.

They mumble incoherent words against each other, clinging the other tighter and tighter as their words stumble out faster and faster.

Both never wanting to let each other go ever again.

It feels like forever when the two's sobbing turn to sniffles and they decide to move their heads so as to see each other's face with only little room between them.

" M-marco, Marco, you're h-here, you're really here! Y-you're alive, you're breathing, I can feel you, I'm not hallucinating again, am I? You're really real? You're not going to vanish in my arms again are you? We're not going to be apart again, are we? " Ace asks, question after question coming out through shaky breaths as he moves his hands softly over his boyfriend's body to make sure that this reality, this reality that has Marco in standing front of him, holding him, is _really_ here, alive, breathing, _real_. 

" I'm here Ace, I'm really here, yoi! You're not hallucinating, look into my eyes Ace. " He says, and he realises Ace isn't responding, eyes glossed over and shaky as he looks over Marco's body again and again, as if he isn't real, as if he's just a figment of his imagination. When Ace doesn't respond to his words once more, he hooks a finger under Ace's chin and tilts it up so he's able to look his boyfriend in his eyes.

" Ace, I'm here, I'm here and I'm never letting you die in front of my eyes ever again. I'm going to make damn sure that we're not separated by force anymore, I swear my life on it. I intend to keep to my words, okay? And nothing's going to ever make me break them. " His eyes are sincere, his smile - though shaky, is honest.

And it's when Ace finally realises that, yes, Marco really is _here, alive, well, breathing, and **smiling**_ at him with eyes so full of love, it's when his mess of thoughts stop turning and he finally smiles back at Marco. 

The two hug once more, burrying each other's head into the crooks of their boyfriend's neck, taking in their scent and locking it into their brain for as long and as much as they can.

_Cough ahem cough_

The two break apart hastily when an awkward cough brings their attention back to the other occupants who are still in the room.

The fake cough coming from Haruta who got _way_ too uncomfortable with how long the two love birds were hugging, forgetting about their surroundings _completely_.

He doesn't want to get traumatised so early on in his life, thank you very much.

Whitebeard, Izou, and Thatch were already done shedding their own tears while the two lovesick birds were still in their own personal bubble. With red rimmed eyes, they too waited in awkward silence, having little to no choice but to watch the two smell each other in their way too long hug. 

" My son, how have you been in this new world? " Whitebeard is the first to ask, breaking the awkward atmosphere which fills the room. 

" What school do you go to? " Thatch is the second, wanting to know why he hasn't seen the Whitebeard family's youngest brother until now. 

" Why are you still shirtless in such a cold weather? Do you _want_ to catch a cold? " Izou asks, snapping his fan close and giving Ace a stink eye.

\--- 

" I don't get how you were in UA and we _still_ didn't even manage to see a hair of you since the year started. " Thatch quips, crossing his arms as he leans back against his seat in the living room.

The six pirates had moved into the smaller living room for some peace and quiet after the rest of the family came running into the room crying out " ACE! " smothering him until his body couldn't be seen in the sea of bodies anymore.

The smaller living room is still quite big in comparison to normal houses, but it's to accommodate for Whitebeard's size. Whitebeard's seated beside the fireplace, with Haruta on his left seated next to Thatch, and Izou on his right.

Marco and Ace are seated together next to each other, their sides practically glued together as neither have left each other since Ace broke free from the sea of bodies, both still afraid that something would happen if they let each other go once more.

" I only managed to find you after you bumped into me yesterday. " Haruta says, sipping on a cup of tea that Izou had made for everyone in the room.

" Wait, I thought Haruta was the only one going to UA, what grades are you guys in if we're all going there? " Ace asks, confused as well on how they've missed each other.

" I'm in class Two A. " Marco supplies, the hand that's circled around Ace's waist pulls him closer to his body at the utterly strange revelation. 

" Izou and I are in class Two B. " Thatch says, taking a sip of tea from his own cup.

" I'm in class One B. How did I even miss you when our classes were right next to each other this whole time? " Haruta questions, brows turned down in thought, staring intently at the coffee table as if it would answer all their questions.

" Well, a lot of things _did_ happen over the course of the week. " Ace says, thinking over all the things that have happened one after another without a break.

" I should've used Haki to find you then, yoi. " Marco says, eyes narrowing in frustration at how little searching he had done in the school itself when he had searched for Ace everywhere else without fail. 

" How about I come back tomorrow? We do need to catch up on everything I've missed. " Ace says, breaking the sudden silence when he takes notice of the time.

Yuki will get worried if he's been gone for so long. And Nanako will most likely call the police to file a missing person report. " Bye guys, I'll see you tomorrow! " Ace says, taking his backpack and running out the door after the rest of the crew's voiced their agreement and said their goodbyes. 


	10. Happiness is found within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And sometimes, it's found around you

" Hey Ace, there's someone by the name of Marco looking for you. " Nanako says first thing in the morning as she's getting ready to leave the house for another day of work.

A body flies out of one of the room doors and crashes into the wall opposite " Where is he! " Ace has no time to waste wallowing in pain from the impact, detaching himself from the wall, he runs straight to the living room and holds his mama by her shoulders and waits for her answer, eyes sparkling with anticipation and delight. 

Though her oldest child is still shorter than her by a couple of centimetres (ten to be exact), Nanako detaches his hands and holds him by the shoulders herself, a firm look in her eyes as she looks into her son's own ones. " Be home by twelve, got it? " Is all she says, she doesn't exactly specify what time of day, but Ace gets the gist.

" You got it! " He agrees, nodding his head rapidly, unable to control his happiness that's radiating off him in waves.

" Now take your backpack and off you go! I'll tell your mom that you won't be eating breakfast before she gets started. " She places his hat on his head, helps him put on his backpack, and sends him out the door with a gentle push on the back once his boots are on. 

" How they grow up so fast. " She sighs, reminiscing of her own youth and how she misses it.

Waiting by the entrance of his house, is Marco and his tuff of familiar golden hair shaped like a pineapple. " Marco! " Ace excitedly greets his boyfriend, glomping him with his full body weight _thrown_ at him with no warning whatsoever. 

" Ace! I came to pick you up, were you surprised, yoi? " Marco asks, easily carrying Ace in his arms as he looks into his eyes lovingly. " I was definitely surprised! I crashed into a wall for you, you know that? " Ace happily says, getting down from his hold on Marco as he fixes his hat that was shifted when his body made impact with Marco. 

" Shall we get going? We've got a lot of things to fill you in on after your....split from us. " Marco says, careful with his choice of words, and still uncomfortable with what happened in Marineford all those years ago.

" Yeah...let's go. " Ace agrees with nod of his head, sensing Marco's fluctuating emotions at the mere thought of what happened. 

The two walk in a comfortable silence holding hands. 

" Hey Ace, " Marco calls for his attention, breaking the silence surrounding them, " Yeah? " " How about I get you another necklace, you know, to replace the one you lost, yoi. " He turns his head to face Ace, wanting to see if he'd agree.

" What? But I thought those beads were one of a kind! Can they _really_ be replaced? " Ace asks, hope shining in his eyes at the possibility of the area around his neck feeling complete once again.

" Who do you think I am? I'm the one who knows how the beads are made. Of course I can give back you the exact same necklace! " He assures, a confident smile on his face which makes Ace feel at ease.

The two reach the mansion and walk in through the doors, " What happened here? " Ace asks with a surprised blink of his eyes, looking at the sea of passed out bodies lying all over the floor in any weird and slightly questionable positions. 

" We had a party in your honor after you went back home last night. " Marco says, shifting his eyes away from Ace's glare, " You guys _partied_ the whole night, and I wasn't _included_? " Ace ~~accuses~~ questions, glaring so hard Marco that can _feel_ holes being drilled into the back of his head the longer he looks away. 

" It was Thatch's idea. " He provides, ~~totally not throwing his brother under the bus, no sirrie~~ the answer sounding more like him reassuring himself if anything. 

" Marco! You know how much I like partying with you guys! How could you leave me out of it! " Ace exclaims, and stalks off with a strong urge and a new mission to pummel Thatch to the ground.

It's when he's up the flight of stairs he decides to throw his hands into the air " The amount of booze I could have had! " He heartbreakingly says as he walks right over the dead weight bodies littered across the ground with little to no effort.

Marco follows him silently so as to not get ~~accused~~ questioned by Ace any further.

" _That's_ what your hung up on? " Haruta asks from his spot on a railing on the second floor, lifting his head up with all his effort as he quirks a brow at the freckled teen. " You would feel the same too if you weren't allowed to drink booze for ten whole years! Ten! " He holds up his two hands and shoves them into the face of the twelfth division commander to make his point. 

" Now that's just sad. " Thatch adds in, hanging from a chandelier, " How'd you even get up there? " Ace asks, confused and impressed at the chef's situation, " No clue. " You know what, pummeling Thatch can come at a later date, laughing at his predicament seems more fun at the moment. 

" You should take a look at Deuce if you think that's impressive, he's passed out on top of one of the larger doors after chugging his tenth mug from losing a bet. " Izou groans, walking up to the two and looking the same as Ace saw him last night. Though the smell of booze _is_ coming strongly off of him in waves.

" Well then, you three have fun, pops and I have got to talk with Ace about a few things. " Waving goodbye to the three hungover teens, Ace and Marco head to the same room Haruta brought Ace last night. 

" My son, there are some things you need to know. " Whitebeard says, gesturing to the couch on the side of him with an assortment of food all laid out on the table for Ace to gorge himself out on while they talk.

So Ace takes a sit and puts his backpack down on the ground beside him, he pushes his hat back so that it hangs by it's strings over his back and so they start.

The two pirates spent several long hours explaining to Ace all that had happened after his death, they told him of how pops too, had died, how Luffy had survived and escaped Marineford with the help of a certain pirate, though it was at the cost of getting a scar on across his chest.

They told him of what had happened to the Whitebeard pirates after the war, how they had tried and failed to protect what they had left against that **lying, ugly, conniving, and good for nothing snake that should rot in the pit of his own garbage**. And Marco, was the one who told Ace of Sabo being alive and how he was chief of staff in the revolutionary army. 

Was Ace feeling a rollercoaster of emotions the whole time he was being filled in? Yes. Was he crying tears of joy when he found out Sabo was alive? Yes. Was he weirded out at the fact that Sabo was working for _Luffy's father, the number one man wanted in the world_ through some strange twist of fate? _No question there_. Is he getting sick and tired of crying non-stop this whole week? _Definitely_.

He can even confidently bet that If past him ever saw present him crying tears enough to fill a river, he'd have said it was a hallucination or a lie, punch the person who showed him present him in the balls, and never hear or see of such a thing again.

And he'd never hear the end of it if Sabo or Luffy ~~especially Luffy~~ caught wind of him crying, especially so considering the fact that the words that came out of his very own mouth towards Luffy were " I hates cry babies! " 

~~Please bury him in the ground six feet under to be one with nature~~

By the time Ace is back to his normal self, the afternoon sun is long gone and it's already beginning to set. 

" Pops! " Haruta bursts in without giving so much as a knock on the door, " It's already dinner, the rest of the crew's waiting for you three so we can start already! " 

" Start what? " Ace asks with a quirk of a brow.

" The party of course! " Without waiting for confirmation, Haruta brings Ace up to his feet, and starts dragging him out the door, " You said you wanted to party and drink booze with us, now you can! " Ace swears he heard Marco laughing along with pops as Haruta pulled him out of ear shot.

" Ah, he forgot his backpack. " Marco notes, accidentally kicking down the bag when he got up to leave the room, " We wouldn't want him worrying about it now would we? Gurararara! " Whitebeard laughs good naturedly as he leaves the room with Marco carrying the bag.

Instead of party sounds and cheerful laughter already sounding, the two pirates walk in on the large living room filled with silence instead. 

" What happened? Why's everyone so quiet, yoi? " Marco asks Izou who's standing nearest to the entrance since the start, " Ace...His back..." Izou's face contorts into a mixture of agony and shock as he looks at the direction where the dining table is.

Marco makes his way through the silent and unmoving sea brothers and sisters, the silence unsettling him more and more the longer it lasts.

" Ace– " He calls but stops himself short when he finally sees the back of his boyfriend, his head is turned down and looking silently at his lap.

His breath hitches and eyes widen when his eyes take note of Ace's back.

Across his whole back, is a birthmark that's akin to a scar, a scar exactly where Akainu had punched a hole right through him. The exact same shape, the exact same size, and the exact same place that _damn_ hole was. 

It wasn't noticed until now because Ace's backpack had been covering it all this while, and when Ace left the room with Haruta earlier, his hat was covering it completely. 

That very thing is the representation of their failure as a family, it'll now be the constant reminder of their inability to protect their baby brother when it mattered most, and for that Thatch, the very consequence of letting his guard down and getting killed by that _bastard of a traitor_ who should **forever rot in the deepest darkest level of impel down like the asshole he is**.

" Ace...How long have you had....this? " Thatch is the one to break the silence, " I guess since I regained my memories before I turned six? It got more obvious after my powers returned so I started carrying around my backpack since then. " 

And before he can lift his head up to look Thatch in his eyes, a pair of hands has circled around him and pulled him into an embrace.

" Marco? You okay? " Marco doesn't answer, voice lost in his throat as he hugs Ace tighter in his arms, as if to try to shield his boyfriend from all the evil and cruelty of the world.

Ace places a hand on Marco's arm, somehow understanding what he's doing despite the lack of words. " _We should have done more. We **could** have done more. **I**_ _should have done more._ " He hears Marco struggle to say against his ear, voice level barely above a whisper as he pulls his body into his chest tighter.

" I shouldn't have let my guard down around **him** the moment he started acting suspicious. Heck, I could've been able to do _something_ if I'd just been more observant at the start! " Thatch, out of everyone present, blames himself the most. He hates that he was the cause of their downfall, hates that he even found that _stupid_ devil fruit in the first place. And most of all, he hates that he was so, _so_ _weak_.

" Stop it. " Ace says, breaking everyone out of their self deprecating thoughts, " Stop blaming yourselves over what happened. I mean yes, I died with a hole in my chest, it still haunts me everytime I think about it. And the fact that I practically handed myself over to the marines due to my own stupidity still follows me to sleep every night, I even hate the fact that I was too _weak_ and _powerless_ to the point that I couldn't even do _anything_ as I watched all of you go to _war_ for **_me_** , the son of the _pirate king_ of all people. " His head is bent low, not once looking up even when Marco hugs him tighter or when his voice breaks.

When he does look up at the faces around him, his voice continues to shake as he goes on.

" But I was happy in those last few moments of my life. I was happy that I found such a loving and caring family. Happy that I found the most amazing boyfriend one could only ever dream for. Happy that I finally found my own treasure outside my sworn brothers to protect and care for. " The change in the air is noticable, moving away from the heavy and suffocating atmosphere to a lighter and more breathable one. 

" But what can I do? The past is the past, and all I can do now is learn to cope with it, learn from the mistakes I've made and make sure to not make the same mistakes again. Isn't that right pops? " He looks to his father figure who's sitting at the end of the dining table, leaning comfortably into Marco's embrace with a small, noticable smile on his face. 

" Gurarara! Ace is right my children, it's time we learned to cope with our past and look forward to our future, together! " And with Ace addressing what's been needing to be addressed for a _very long time_ now, along with their pops words of agreement and encouragement, it seems to work like magic.

The lights in their eyes shining brighter than ever, with their spirits burning hotter than the sun, they cheers and wave their drinks in hand as they start off the party with Binks Sake Playing in the background. 

" You know, " Ace says out of the blue, seated next to Marco as he holds his booze looking at the mess that is his family singing and dancing however much they want, subconsiously, he says the next few words, unaware of the fact that Marco's attention is on him now, " for some strange reason, I feel like Luffy would love this. " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is all fun....I think, am I drunk on sleep, yes, have a good day


	11. A normal Start of the day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tackling people with all your body weight must be a new thing

Ace managed to reach home five minutes before twelve midnight, walking home with Marco so as to get some alone time together.  


Does Ace smell like he just bathed in booze for a good, solid hour? Of course not. He'd made sure to take a quick shower at the Whitebeard mansion to rid himself of the pungent smell of booze and used his fire to burn through the alcohol in his system quickly. 

It's a good thing he doesn't get drunk so easily. 

Because making sure he that doesn't get caught in the act is really hard work. 

" I'll see you tomorrow, sweet dreams Ace. " Marco softly says, planting a quick peck on Ace's lips, making sure that his boyfriend safely enters his house before heading back.  


  
" I'm home! " Ace calls, taking off his backpack, kicking off his boots, and pushing his hat onto his back, " Welcome home! " He hears Yuki's voice come from the kitchen, " Hi mom! Got any apple slices left? " Ace asks, popping his head into the kitchen and sees Yuki cutting up a watermelon on the kitchen island.

  
  
" Even better! Our next door neighbours grew some watermelons and were kind enough to give us some! You should go thank them later too. " Her words are kind, but seeing her holding a knife and cutting up the watermelon into slices without any hint of trouble on her face, _really_ makes her scary.

" Got it! " Ace rapidly nods his head, takes a slice of watermelon that's lying on a plate and bites down on it, " This is so sweet! " He exclaims pleasantly surprised at how tasty the home grown melon is.

The rest of the night wasn't much to note, really. Ace figures that one whole day filled with tears of happiness and sadness is good enough for him. 

To end off the night, Ace bids his mothers a goodnight, enters his room and is out like a light with a snap of a finger. And honestly, he's surprised he only fell asleep _now_. Narcolapsey is a very weird thing to have.

With the crack of sunlight signalling the beginning of a new day accompanied with Ace's alarm clock going off like a fire a alarm in a school, the freckled teen rolls off his bed sleepily and falls right onto the floor with his blanket miraculously still covering him. 

" Ace get up or you'll miss breakfast! " He faintly hears Eijirou's muffled voice through his blurry, sleepy state, and figures that he should probably get moving sooner or later, preferably later, it's not like Eijirou can finish his food anyways. 

He lets out a yawn and stretches out the aches in his body. Once he's more awake, he stares at the ceiling for the next three minutes. " I wonder if I can paint a map of the grand line on it. " He absent mindedly says, twisting his head at an angle trying to see if he really _can_ paint the map of the grand line on his ceiling.

" _Ace!_ "

This time it's Nanako's turn to call for him. And if Nanako's calling for him, it most likely means his food's already getting cold.

" Coming! " He yells out in response, standing up from his spot on the floor and letting the blanket that's covering him fall to the floor. He grabs his hat lying next to his bed, hangs it by the string on his neck against his back, heads to the bathroom to wash up and is sitting at the dining table in no time. 

" Your mom and I won't be home for the next two days. " Their mama says, breaking the comfortable silence surrounding the table (with the exception of Ace gorging out on his breakfast sounding like a wild animal). " Why? " Eijirou asks, " It's a last minute business trip that's very important, and it couldn't _exactly_ be postponed. " Nanako says with exasperation, the idea of leaving her two kids alone at home for the next two days isn't exactly comforting.

And considering the fact that Ace is a _tad_ bit destructive on some aspects, makes her even less keen on the idea. " So, to make sure you two don't starve to death while we're away, I've made extra food and put them in the fridge so you can eat when you're hungry. " Yuki says, all eyes turn to Ace knowing _exactly_ what she means. 

" And if the fridge is out of food, I've left some money out on the living room table for you two to help yourselves out. " Nanako says, and once more, all eyes are on Ace who's been happily stuffing his face with meat whilst paying attention to what's being said.

" Leave it to us mom! You two go do what you need to do and I'll make sure we don't starve to death! " Eijirou happily says, bringing Ace into a side hug and smiles at their mothers. 

" We're going to miss the plane if we delay any longer so we've got to get going. " Nanako notes, looking at the cloak on the wall. The two mothers place their dishes in the dish washer and head to the entrance with their luggages in hand. 

" Make sure you put your dirty clothes in the washer when you get home, the dish washer doesn't need so much soap in it just a dash, and don't burn the house down, okay? We haven't got the insurance for that scenario yet. " Yuki hurriedly says, kissing Eijirou and Ace (who was reluctant) on the forehead goodbye. 

" You have our phone numbers in cases of emergency? " Nanako asks, earning a nod from Eijirou and a confused look from Ace, he has no clue what their phone numbers are. Oh well, Eijirou knows them so it's no biggie.

" Bye boys, we'll be back home as fast as we can! " Yuki bids farewell as they get into the car and are off for the airport.

The twins get ready for school without much fuss, Ace waits for his twin to lock the front door of their house, and the twins are off for UA.

The walk to school is calming, with Eijirou excitedly recounting his fight against the villains at USJ and Ace listening with rapt attention while munching on his second breakfast for the day (triple layered turkey sandwich).

" Ace! " A shout stops them in their tracks and they turn to the direction of the shout in mild confusion.

Correction, Eijirou turns to the direction of the shout in mild confusion, Ace gets tackled to the ground by someone before he even has the chance to turn his body completely.

Eijirou lets out a cry of surprise at that.

' _I **really** need to work on my Haki_. ' The teen notes once more as he props his elbows on the ground, breakfast - thankfully - still intact and safe, and looks at the cause of his fall with a smile on his face. " Nice greeting, Haruta! " He laughs before shoving the body off of him and stands back up to continue eating.

" Ace! " Another person with a very familiar pompadour greets, helping Haruta help up with a simple tug on his arm. " Thatch! " Ace excitedly greets the other, bringing him in for a quick hug with a grin on his face.

" Am I glad we ran into you! _Marco's been grumpy since we couldn't meet up with you at your house_. " The cook whispers to the freckled teen, nudging his head to where they came from.

Raising a brow at the cook, Ace turns his head to the direction indicated, and immediately, a bright and happy smile graces his face at the sight of Marco, the blond teen's laid back as usual, but Ace can see the signs of happiness in Marco's body language.

This time, Ace is the one who tackles someone, more specifically he tackles Marco into a hug with all his weight without mercy.

" Morning! " He greets, putting his feet back onto the ground, arms still hugging Marco. 

" Morning. " Marco greets back, a loving smile on his face as he reciprocates the hug.

Eijirou, who hasn't moved since his cry of surprise, is _extremely_ confused. Nevermind the fact Ace knows these three people who go to the same school as them, he's confused as to why Ace is hugging someone from the same school who's _obviously_ older than them. 

" The heck? " Okay, maybe Bakugo's been rubbing off on him a tad bit. 

" Ah. " Ace let out a sound akin to embarrassment and surprise, letting go of Marco and standing beside him. Ace looks to his extremely confused twin and, with a hand scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment, he introduces the three teenagers to his twin.

" Haruta, Thatch, Marco, meet Kirishima Eijirou, my younger twin brother. Eijirou, meet Thatch, Haruta, and Marco, my family away from home. " He prefers to ignore the mischievous eyes of the cook and swordsman looking into very his soul.

" Nice to meet you! " Eijirou greets first, shaking the hands of each Whitebeard pirate with a smile on his face. 

With the four now acquainted with each other, they continue their walk to school.

Haruta, Thatch, and Eijirou talk with each other about something animatedly while Ace and Marco walk behind them, their hands and fingers intertwined.

When they reach the doors of class 1A, Thatch, Haruta, and Marco bid goodbye to Ace and Eijirou and head for their own classes in a calm but fast manner. Just because they're pirates doesn't mean they want their attendance percentage to be horrible.

What good would that do?

Besides the fact that Aizawa showed up to class looking like a mummy who just escaped a hospital for the undead, they are still going to host the UA sports festival despite the villain attack, minus the fact that narcolapsey had decided to make a visit, making Ace knock out halfway through homeroom.

Ace remained asleep till English, Present Mic's class, thanks to the help of Todoroki waking him up with a simple poke on his arm. He likes Hizashi, he's a really fun guy and no one can't _not_ like a guy like Hizashi. The rest of the teachers aren't so fun ~~looking at you science teacher.~~

When lunch rolls around, class 1A gets a surprise visit from three students. Haruta, Thatch, and Marco to be more exact.

Seeing as to how the three wanted to eat lunch and spend some time with Ace, the Kirishimas decide to split up, Eijirou going ahead with Sero, Kaminari, and surprisingly enough, Bakugo. 

The four head to the mess hall with Haruta fighting against Thatch about the chef stealing something that belongs to the swordsman while Ace laughs loudly in glee watching them fight to the death like kids.

Marco decided long ago that pretending to see nothing is very good for his stress levels.


	12. Being late for events is wonderful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Except when you realise you'd rather jump out of a window than be late on most days

Lunch is actually quite fun.

Correction, lunch is fun for Ace, Marco, Haruta, Izou and Thatch. The other students seated nearby aren't exactly having an enjoyable lunch in the mess hall.

Izou went on ahead from Marco, Thatch, and Haruta to save a seat comfortable and spacious enough for all five to eat.

" Ace don't you _**dare** _steal my fries! " Haruta screeches launching himself from his seat, flying across the table and starting a brawl with Ace for the single piece of french fry. 

" Hey Haruta! " Thatch calls in his seat, a sly, smug smile on his face, making the two brawling teens pause mid swing. " Thanks for the drink! " And he takes a good long and _loud_ slurp of Haruta's smoothie, an evil glint in his eyes as he looks at him.

" Thatch you piece of shit! How could you betray me! " Haruta shouts in horror, abandoning his scuffle with Ace and launching himself over the table once again and begins a knife fight with the chef.

The cutlery knife the mess hall supplies for the students to be more exact. 

And while the two fight against each other with their cutlery knives, Ace steals everything on the swordsman and chef's trays, stuffing them all in his mouth causing his cheeks to bulge and look like a chipmunk.

He left Izou's food alone, the fan the teen is currently fanning himself with _Is_ a weapon in disguise, and he does _n_ _ot_ want to be on the receiving end of it, thank you very much.

" You can have mine if you're still hungry. " Marco offers pushing his leftovers over to Ace, face buried in a book about human anatomy. Completely ignoring the knife fight the two in front of him are having.

" Thanks! " Ace happily says, taking the tray and pushing aside his own empty one, gorging himself out on his sixth serving contently. 

"" MY FOOD! _ACE HOW COULD YOU STEAL MY FOOD?! I HAVEN'T EVEN EATEN HALF OF IT YET. ""_ Thatch and Haruta both fly over the table, take Ace by the shoulders and proceed to violently shake the living daylight out of him, heartbroken at the fact that their own food was stolen right under their very noses while they were busy fighting each other. 

" It's not my fault you guys let down your guard. " That D. like grin he's giving the two _really_ makes them want throw him out the building and straight into a tree to get even. Then again, Marco wouldn't really appreciate having his boyfriend thrown like a sack of potatoes out of a window three stories high, so they're letting Ace go on this one, _this time._

And Ace knows it which is why he's gleefully cackling in their faces, though the light smack Marco gives him up the head does make him bring his smugness down a notch.

And when they let go of Ace, Thatch trips on a leg Haruta put out behind him stepping back and falls back first onto the table and right on Izou's food, splattering the fashionable teen's blueberry smoothie all over him completely.

And with a vain throbbing, Izou snaps his fan close, stands from his seat with all the grace he can muster, throws himself at the two and begins to beat the living heck out of Haruta and Thatch. 

So lunch is per usual for the five boys, in fact, it's actually less chaotic than usual taking into the account that there's no booze being served _at all_. 

When the bell signals the end of lunch, the five head back to their own classrooms for the rest of the day. 

Wonderfully enough, halfway through the second to last lesson of the day, Ace's head hit the desk and was out like a light with the help of narcolapsey all the way till the end of school.

Or maybe he decided to take a nap in science, _no one knows_. 

When class ended, Todoroki noticed Ace still out like the dead, so as a kind and curious soul, he poked him on the bicep. And when he didn't get a response, he poked him on the forearm.

Long story short, Todoroki's been poking his desk neighbour for a good while now, and Ace is still asleep. Kirishima decided to humour himself by watching Todoroki continuously poke Ace on the arm. 

" Wah! " A cry of surprise from Midoriya brings the attention of everyone to the classroom entrance. " What's going on? " Kirishima asks, moving his head at an angle to get a better view at what's got Midoriya so spooked. 

" What's with the crowd? " Yaoyozoru questions, standing from her seat, looking at the crowd of students outside. 

" They're scouting out the competition. " Bakugo says calmly, his resting "fight me!" face toned down a notch as he looks at the students outside with his hands in his pockets. 

" Competition? " Kirishima echoes, moving his eyes from the door to Bakugo silently asking for an answer. " They want to check out how tough the students who fought against villains are. " Bakugo says, " Move out of my way damn extras. " He casually says, voice low as he makes his way to the class door, stopping right in front of the crowd of students.

Todoroki, on the other hand, has his concentration divided in two, one is to focus on what's happening around the class, and the other is to continue poking Ace until the teen wakes up.

While a student who's not in the hero course declares war - or something - with the students of Class 1A, and with everyone's attention on what's happening at the front of the class, no one notices four students sneaking in to the classroom through the back door. 

" Hi. " Thatch shamelessly greets Todoroki with a wave of his hand, to which the boy gives a nod of acknowledgement along with a look of confusion on his face aimed at the four.

" Friend of Ace? " Marco asks softly, not wanting to wake Ace up just yet. When Todoroki answers with a " Yes. " Haruta finally opens his mouth and asks, " You trying to wake him up? " 

" I've had no success since class ended. And He usually gets up with a poke or two. " Todoroki answer his voice on the same level as Marco's with his hand still poking Ace. 

Meanwhile, with Kirishima, Bakugo and etcetera face a fellow student from 1B by the name of Tetsutetsu, a fellow student who has also declared war on their class.

No one has noticed the arrival of the four in _completely different classes_ besides Todoroki. 

" He's not going to wake up at this rate, and we all agreed to go to the mall together to get groceries. " Izou notes, thinking of a way to make his youngest brother up. 

" I've got it. " Thatch says without hesitation, taking Ace's backpack on the sleeping teen's desk, and digs through it.

" What are you doing? " Todoroki asks, brows slightly furrowed as he looks at Thatch take out a piece of meat out from the backpack with a "Hooray!" from Haruta in the background. 

" This gets him up in an instant. " Marco monotonously says, taking note of the look of confusion that flashes across Todoroki's face.

Thatch hovers the meat under Ace's nose from under the table, and immediately, Ace's head goes lower down and chomps down on the piece of meat, bright and awake. 

With the meat still in his mouth, he moves to sit back up, notices the five around the table and has a five second delay before he greets them through the meat.

" Swollow before you speak Ace, you know we can't understand what you say if your mouth is full. " Izou lightly says, a slight wrinkle of his nose when he sees the meat fly out of Ace's mouth as he apologises. 

" Sorry about that. " Ace says once more, swallowing down his meat whole. 

" So, shall we get going? " Ace asks, standing up from his seat and putting his hat and backpack back on. " Can't really do that with what's happening at the moment. " Marco says, gesturing to the crowd of students still gathered outside the classroom. 

" Oh, wanna take a short cut then? " Ace asks, a raise of a brow together with a mischievous smirk appears on his face. " Wanna come with Todoroki? " He offers when he sees the look of childlike curiosity in the teen's eyes. 

When he gets a nod of agreement from Todoroki, Ace looks back to the four for their answer. " It's not like I have anything better to do. " Thatch says with a shrug of his shoulders, the same agreement coming from the other three as well.

" Great! " With a happy smile, Ace opens the window by his seat, the one he made sure to seat next to in case of emergencies, looks to the five when realisation dawns on them squats on the window sill with a big, bright grin, saying " Follow me! " And jumps out the window.

To be fair, they didn't ask if the idea involved jumping out a window two stories high.

Besides, it's not like they didn't jump out the window right after.

And to make sure he doesn't worry Eijirou, Ace left him a note saying he'd be going on ahead of him first, his brother has plans of his own and he didn't want to intrude on them. 

When the four split from Todoroki with a small farewell, they head for the mall on the quest for groceries.

Overall, it's a fairly peaceful day.

\---

The Whitebeards aren't free today because someone declared war on Pops, and Ace can't go because Marco said explosives would be involved and that he'd most _definitely_ blow everything up if he's not careful.

Anyways. 

To train for the UA festival, Eijirou's been dragging Ace out of the house early every morning to help him out with his training. 

By having Ace chuck boulders the size of cars right at him. 

According to Eijirou, he wants to increase the durability and length of time on his quirk.

Ace doesn't know how him throwing rocks at Eijioru helps exactly, but eh, as long as Eijirou's happy he figures. 

When Eijirou concludes his training for the day, Ace waves a small goodbye and splits from his brother, heading for his usual training ground.

The abandoned park.

To be more specific, the abandoned park turned training ground he has claimed as his ever since he discovered it.

It's not like anyone visits it anyways. 

" Okay, it's time to work on my Haki. " 

\---

When the day of the UA festival arrives, Ace _completely_ forgot about it and slept in.

To be fair, Eijirou was too excited and left the house completely forgetting that Ace wasn't even up and about yet, only realising it when he was in the waiting room with the rest of the class.

" I FORGOT ACE! " He proclaims in horror, making the rest of the class also freeze everything they're doing and look at him in shock.

\---

It's only after Bakugo declared that he'd be first in front of everyone and recieved protest from the rest of the students did Ace show up.

_Silence_

Silence is the only thing that drowns the freshmen stadium when Ace shows up. It's not because he's late to be exact, it's because he showed up on top of the wall.

Yes. Ace showed up on top of the stadium walls above the seats of heroes and the like with a Turkey leg in his mouth. 

To be fair, Ace didn't want to turn up for the festival like this. He wanted to enter the freshmen stadium through the back entrance like what the freshmen were told to do. But it was locked.

And he's already late and he didn't want to be disqualified without actually participating in the damn thing first.

So he decided to go for the next logical thing.

....Okay, entering the stadium through the front entrance was the next logical thing.

But Ace was raised by bandits on Mt. Colubo before he became a pirate - courtesy of Garp - a place where using the front door isn't exactly what's considered the next logical thing to do when the windows are locked. And he was also too hungry to think any further.

He also spent a vast majority of his childhood stealing various treasure from nobles by climbing up their walls and into their rooms through open windows, it's practically become a habit ingrained in him to do so.

So he climbed up the stadium walls like a thief.

The silence is the first thing that he considers weird.

The heroes shouting up at him about something from the ground on the side of the wall he climbed up from is the second thing that he considers to be weirder.

The last thing that clues him in that what he did wasn't exactly safe ~~_or something along that line_~~ , is the worried and horrified screaming and shouting coming from the whole freshmen stadium telling him to get down from the top of the wall.

So he lets out an "Ah." and jumps down from the top of the wall and right down to the ground without any hesitation.

Which only adds to the horror for everyone else watching him fall through the air in front of their very eyes.

" Okay, let's start this thing! " Ace exclaims, completely ignoring the concerned stares burning holes through his body by everyone around him.

" Are you sure he's your brother? " Kaminari finally asks, leaning into Eijirou who's decided to have his face meet his palm very gloriously. 

" I've got the birth certificate to prove it. " Is all Eijirou mumbles through his hand, already wanting to get this day over and done with. 


	13. Let's have some fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Correction, let Ace have some fun, everyone else just suffers

Whole heartedly ignoring all eyes on him as he waits for the start of the preliminary, Ace numbly takes a bite out of his turkey leg.

" You idiot, was the front entrance not an option? " Haruta asks, knocking his sword hilt on Ace's head lightly and lets out a laugh joyously at the freckled teen not even acknowledging the concerned and judging stares aimed pointed at him.

" I was hungry okay? The front doors wasn't exactly an option at the time. " Ace retorts with a grumble, not wanting to broach on the topic on his choice of arrival any longer.

The blaring of a horn signals the start of the preliminary round along with the opening of the large doors, bringing all eyes and attention back to the UA festival obstacle race. 

And as all the students begin to make a break for it, with the turkey leg in his mouth, Ace makes his way over to the giant robots very similar to the one he - to put it in a nice way - ' _fought_ ' and simply makes a jump which sends him right over ans past three robots, coincidentally avoiding Todoroki's ice wave.

He lands back on the ground safely with Haruta - who had cut through the ice - right behind him, and the two break into a run, laughing with obvious joy at the look of shock on the majority of the students faces seeing him jump so high and far. 

Some curses may or may not have come from Bakugo along with the sounds of explosions blasting away the robots in his way.

Ace and Haruta don't even run that far when they reach the next obstacle in the race, a canyon that the students have to cross by walking on a rope. 

" How would you feel about me passing through by jumping over this? " He jokingly asks Haruta, not really caring about his opinion since he already has a running start between him and the canyon. 

" Like I'd let you do it alone! " Running to the starting point Ace is at, Haruta manages to catch sight of Todoroki and Bakugo who've already caught up to them. Ace doesn't even need to be told, already sensing the two teens coming up behind him as he starts to run toward the canyon.

With a push of his legs making him jump at the very edge of the canyon, Ace is up in the air and soaring through it with glee.

Haruta not far behind, narrowly dodges a grab for his shirt by Bakugo. 

" Isn't this cheating though? " Haruta questions once he realises that the two of them have basically jumped over their problems. 

" Last I checked, an obstacle course is for us to find the quickest way through it using as little energy as possible. And I'm doing exactly that. " Ace confidently says, taking a bite out of his turkey leg while running. 

" By running and jumping. " Haruta says, not so much as a question and more as an answer, " The rules never said to fight our way through it. " The freckled teen specifies.

" Like you read the rules. " Haruta's known Ace long enough to the point that the youngest son of Whitebeard isn't exactly someone who follows the rules.

Then again, he did grow up practically raising the hellion that's Monkey D. Luffy, and on a mountain with bandits no less.

_Yeah_ , Haruta's pretty sure Ace doesn't really get what the word 'rules' actually mean. 

Eh, it's not like he's any better.

With Todoroki and Bakugo hot on their tails, Ace and Haruta have reached the last obstacle, a mine field.

They stop running right at the start of the field.

And out of pure curiosity, Ace tosses the leftover bone of his turkey leg onto the mine field and watches the explosion, the shockwave strong enough to make him hold his hat down. " I'm pretty sure if we jump and somehow miss our step, it's not going to be fun. " 

There isn't anything else said, just a pause as they think of what to do next.

And with the pause, come a grin, that stupid D. like grin that makes things fun for _them_ and a _mess_ to clean up for _everyone else_.

" How about I throw you? " Ace breaks the silence.

A twitch of an eye, followed by a hand infused with Haki chops Ace on the head, " _How about I chuck you instead?!_ " Haruta's suddenly beginning to understand how much Ace's baby brother's navigator struggles dealing with Luffy and his antics.

So when the two pirates hear the footsteps coming from Todoroki and Bakugo closing in on them, Haruta resolutely decides that now is a good time as any to get even with Ace for stealing his food.

He places a hand on Ace's shoulder, and Ace looks at him with confusion clear on his face, then with horror when he recognises what that gleam in Haruta's eyes means. 

" It's time I get revenge for my lunch. " Haruta sagely says, and Ace _swears_ he can see a golden light illuminating Haruta from behind.

He doesn't even have time to voice out his rejection before Haruta's carrying him over his head as if he doesn't way a thing.

All he can manage is a sputtering of incomprehensible words at the ridiculousness of his situation before the swordsman has his arms cranked back, his left leg behind and his right leg in front, and proceeds to literally **_throw_** him over and past the land mines.

And as he's flying through the air with the wind in his ears, Ace can hear Haruta's gremlin-like cackle even though he's screaming in terror. 

' _I should've thrown him when I had the chance. '_ He grumpily thinks, landing and sliding across the ground with his two feet the only things keeping him upright. 

When he finally skids to a stop, he looks back at the mine field and sees Haruta fighting it out with Bakugo and Todoroki while they cross the mine field. 

" HARUTA, WHY DIDN'T YOU JUMP? " He asks, making sure his voice is loud enough to get through the noise from all the fighting. " BE MY GUEST AND TRY JUMPING OVER THIS STUPID FIELD THEN! " The Whitebeard pirate shouts back as he blocks an explosion from Bakugo with his swords and is flying a few feet into the air due to the explosion.

" I'M GOOD. " Ace happily answers back, taking out a quadruple layered meat sandwich from his backpack and proceeds to start eating his third breakfast for the day.

He _could_ run ahead and finish the race in first place, and he'd really rather not alone at the moment. Besides that, it's fun watching Haruta fight off two of his classmates over a mine field while trying not to severely injure them.

Contently munching away on his sandwich, Ace watches the three teens fight. And later takes a squatting position where he waits when he notices the rest of the students in the race reach the field.

A laughter escapes from him every now and then when he sees some weird poses the students make as they carefully try to make their way across the mine field.

When Haruta's finally managed to leave Todoroki and Bakugo behind and meet back up with Ace, and the two continue running.

_BOOM_

A loud explosion occurs at the start of the mine field which sends _something_ flying across and over the field.

It passes over Bakugo and Todoroki, and heads right for Ace and Haruta.

If not for the fact that Haruta happened to see a _boy_ holding onto the flying object headed their way, he would've cut it cleanly in half with his sword and might have caused an accident.

That's when Bakuogo let out a war cry of " DEKU! " followed with multiple explosions going off that most definitely _do not_ belong to the land mines littered all around.

With the explosions, comes the wave of ice.

And with the wave of ice, Ace decides to have some unbrideled fun once he sees Midoriya get off the green metallic thingy right behind them. 

With a wide grin etched on his face, he stops running and turns his body toward the green metal. His eyes does a quick once over mine field and brings his eyes back to the metal currently flying at him. 

He plants his left leg down to the ground and spins his body, his right leg in the air. Right as he finishes his spin, the metal is already in the perfect position.

The perfect position to kick that is.

When his right foot makes contact with the green metal, Ace's grin is stretched even wider at the fact that he's timed his counter _perfectly_. So perfectly in fact, that the metal was sent flying into the air once more, and lands directly on the mine field.

"..."

Silence.

A dead silence fills the air as all eyes look at the piece of metal balanced precariously on the tip on one of it's corners right smack in the middle of _five_ land mines clustered together. 

Surrounding those five land mines are other land mines nearby, not directly next to them, but close enough that _when_ the five go off, they'll most _definitely_ go off.

No one moves.

No one even dares to breathe.

Because if they do breathe, and sheer pure damn dumb bad luck strikes making the sheet of metal fall on it's side, it's going to be a chain reaction that _no one_ wants happening.

_Wooosh_

What do you know, sheer pure damn dumb luck _does_ strike. 

In the shape of a gust of wind no less.

It almost seems like the work of a devil is at hand. 

And Ace has been cackling like the devil since the start of the silence. So it's safe to say that he _could_ be the devil in the flesh.

" RUN!!! " Someone screams once the metal starts to tip over by the gust of wind. Everyone as no choice but to run in one specific direction; the entrance to the stadium. 

And right as Haruta's dragged Ace into the stadium, away from the explosion...

_**BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...** _

A chain reaction of explosions occur and creates shockwaves so strong that they send the students flying through the stadium entrance all at once.

When the explosions have finally died down, no one moves other than the students on the ground moving to stand. No one even knows _what_ to say at what just happened.

In fact, " What the hell just happened? " Aizawa's the one to break the silence, asking the question that's on everybody's mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna get an Ace figurine but my wallet screams I'm broke ಥ‿ಥ


	14. Being little shits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because why not

Following the chain of explosions, comes silence. With the silence, comes the questioning and harshly judging, criticising glares and stares aimed at a certain orange hat wearing teenager who's still laughing in obvious joy and what just happened.

Haruta's barely keeping his composure as it is, and then he remembers the hilarious faces all of the students made in terror as they ran to take cover away from the mine field.

And he finally breaks.

" HAHAHAHA! " Haruta and Ace's laughter rings out across the entire freshmen stadium, completely disregarding the looks every living thing that's alive is giving them.

" Ace, you good there? " Present mic asks when he notices Ace's laughter eventually coming to a stop. 

" I'm good! " He cheerfully confirms, giving the English teacher a thumbs up in his direction from his place on the ground. 

Which earns a sigh of relief from Hizashi, a grunt of acknowledge from Aizawa, and a mixture of emotions from the audience.

Haruta's in the state of silent laughter at the moment. But he's good.

" I'm going to feel _everything_ tomorrow. " Ace hears a student groan and then the shuffling of feet in an attempt to get closer to Ace through all the body aches.

" You good there Sero? " He asks the student, turning his head to look at his classmate who gives a shaky but firm, thumbs up.

" Better than ever! " And a faint whimper escapes him as he tries to slowly straighten his back, but Ace doesn't acknowledge it, wanting to give Sero a way out so as to save his pride.

Once Midnight's made sure that there were no casualties with what happened because of Ace (which Ace finds highly insulting to his fighting abilities) the confusion settles in at last.

With the confusion, comes the immediate boredom of waiting for heroes and the like to finish being confused, accompanying the sudden need to take a nap.

For Ace that is.

So he lets out a yawn.

" So who won the race? " One of the students most definitely not from class A or B, asks.

" Excellent question! It was _Ace_. " 

" _Haruta_. " 

" _Midoriya_. " 

Oh, three answers to one question, _wonderful_.

" Midoriya didn't win, he entered the stadium after Ace. " Present mic argues, not in agreement with the other two heroes. " Haruta was the one to come in first and was dragging Ace in by his backpack followed by Midoriya, so he wins. " Aizawa counters, his voice ever so enthusiastic. 

They continue to bicker back and forth, not able to decide on who the winner actually is until, " I have a solution. " Ace offers while he takes a bite out of his mid-morning snack (meat burger) in his hand, having had enough of the pro heroes constantly disagreeing about the placings of the three kids.

' _I just wanna take a nap. '_ His subconsciously quips, grumpy.

" Let's play rock paper scissors. " Haruta's the one who suggests the idea, catching onto Ace's line of thought and the sudden mood change easily. 

" ....Rock paper scissors? " Midnight repeats, not able to comprehend why the two teens would want to settle something that's potentially life changing with simple game toddlers play during recess. 

Besides, It's not like they can really reject the idea, the cameras couldn't get the footage of who crossed the finish line first when the explosions happened, and it's currently under maintenance due to the damage it recieved from the shockwave the explosions from the mine field caused. 

So yes, in the most boring way imaginable, the three teenagers hold a round of _scissors paper stone_ to determine who the winner of the obstacle race is.

Which is ridiculous in and of itself, but eh, it's less work.

The three boys tied three times before Midoriya was declared the winner, leaving Ace and Haruta to their own devices to decide who'll be second and who's going to be third. 

" I'll treat you to lunch buffets for the whole of next month if you give me second place. " Haruta bargains, " Make it two months and you've got a deal. " Ace counters, yawning loudly as he takes a threatening bite out of his burger, making Haruta sigh in defeat.

The freckled teen's yawns are becoming more frequent.

A sleepy Ace isn't fun to make deals with.

" My wallet's going to regret this, but you've got a deal! " So they shake on it and thus, making it official that Haruta's in second place and Ace in third through the _weirdest way possible._

Everyone else aside from the two don't even know what to say, what _can_ they say? So in a silent agreement, they've all collectively decided to act as if what they just saw never happened and move on to round two.

Eijirou's already used to the weirdness in his life in the form of Ace, so the ending result of this round doesn't even phase him all that much.

Now that everything's settled and the students going on to the next round are the only ones left on the stage, Midnight begins to explain the what the next round is.

" We're doing a cavalry battle! " She announces excitedly, explains rules and the like, before finally ending the briefing, " And since it's a point based system, the points will come from your placing in the obstacle race with first place at one million points! " 

"..." Tension is in the air.

Midoriya is quaking.

Ace is sleepy.

" You'll be fine. " Ace calmly says, somehow managing to fight back a yawn as he places a hand on the green haired boy's shoulder in a form of silent encouragement, then he turns his attention to the swordsman standing next to him and happily says, " Haruta, let's team up! " 

Because if he's going to have to go through this damn thing without being able to take a damn nap, he's going to make everyone else's life a living _hell_. 

And nothing is going to stop him. **_Nothing._**

Kindness be damned.

Haruta doesn't even question the malicious glint in Ace's eyes, or the dark aura coming off his body in waves, he just passes it off as a nap deprived Ace seeking vengeance. 

With all the teams formed and no one being brave enough to ask to join the duo that is Ace and Haruta leaving them on their own ~~(c~~ ~~hickens)~~ , the cavalry battle begins. 

It's an agreement made between the two that Ace will be the rider, so napping will have to take a backseat. He's determined to make everyone - excluding Haruta - _**suffer**._

He'll have to apologise to Eijirou later.

Oh well.

With the vast majority running towards Midoriya and his team for the one million points five minutes in, and Ace figures his given all of them enough time to warm up, so he mumbles out only one word in his sleepy state, " Haki. "

Which makes Haruta encase his body in Busoshoku Haki, and in the nick of time too, for Ace's hand has already turned into fire, a shit eating grin etched on his face, for he's already prepared to release his attack.

" Kagero! " He says, voice barely audible through the amount of noise being produced by the rest of the teens already fighting. The students only have a split second of a warning before a stream of fire, hotter than the sun, sweeps through the _entire_ stadium.

No one's free from the clutches of the hellish fire, they only have one of two options to choose from; Take the attack head on and attempt to make it through the attack, or dodge.

And neither options are easy to accomplish. First off, the fire power is hot enough to disintegrate everything it touches, forget blocking and living to tell the tale, they'd die! And second, the stream of fire has a circumference of Doflamingo's height, nevermind dodging, they'd rather kiss the Earth and come out alive! 

When all the teams have no choice but to gather together and huddle close to a wall of the stadium in an attempt to escape the clutches of fire, an ice wall appears and blocks off the fire in the nick of time, effectively saving them from being crisp.

They collectively let out a sigh of relief, and turn to their saviour " Thanks, Todoroki! " They express their goodwill even if the rest of the classes don't know him, and then the ice wall begins to melt from the continuous stream of fire hurled at it.

While Todoroki ensures that the ice wall doesn't melt completely, the rest hope for Ace's attack to come to a stop soon so they can resume what they were doing. It's also when someone from class 1C voices out their thoughts, " What is _with_ this year's UA sport festival? The second and third years didn't have to go through all of _this!_ " They wave their hands in the air randomly, but the point gets across.

If they take out the villain attack at USJ from the list of everything they've gone through, it means one of two things, that Ace is a magnet for trouble or, they all have incredibly bad, shitty, shitty luck.

Eijirou's more inclined to say it's the first one.

The loud and evil cackle coming from Ace on the other side of the ice wall only makes his confirmation stronger, and he doesn't exactly feel comforted by his thoughts with Haruta's gremlin-like laughter joining in.

It's like the devil and satan's reincarnation have teamed up to inflict vengeance upon their sworn enemies.

And then the laughter abruptly stops along with the stream of fire. The students of 1A look to each other for confirmation, if the silence has happened so abruptly, that means Ace's narcolapsey has decided to make it's debut! 

They charge out from the behind the ice wall one after another, immediately seeing Haruta still carrying Ace who's comfortably perched on his shoulders with ease, and the main culprit of their recent suffering is indeed, asleep!

~~The damn burgers still in his hold, _how does that even work?_~~

The other classes have been shocked stupid by the revelation. 

Forget Midoriya, they have the perfect chance to get back at Ace for all the trouble he's caused for them since the very start of the festival, right here and now! Like they'd willingly ~~and stupidly~~ waste it!

Distracted with their own thoughts, they miss the slight green glow in Haruta's eyes. 

Surrounded on all sides with Ace sleeping without any sign discomfort on his shoulders, the swordsman quietly surveys his 'enemies' calmly, his slightly glowing green eyes shifting to and fro every now and then, waiting for the perfect moment to make his move.

Even though half of his vision is blocked with Ace slumped over his head, he's still able to block and dodge every lunge and grab aimed for the headband tied around Ace's forehead.

" Haruta from class B is doing an amazing job keeping the other teams out of reach with the help of his quirk! " Present mic announces, and mummurs quickly spread throughout the audience, whispers of curiosity here and there, wanting to know what the swordman's quirk is.

The one versus many continues on until there's exactly three minutes left on the clock, it's also when Ace wakes up.

The two don't waste any time, Haruta jumps into the air for clearing, away from the teams while Ace launches out his attack in perfect sync.

" ENJOMO! " 

The fire spreads out and like a net and cages in the students with each other, successfully making it so no one's able to get in, or out. 

When Haruta's back on the ground, the two look back at their creation, and laugh in glee. Satisfied with their work.

More like cackle like crazed maniacs, but eh. 

With no other choice, the students end up going for each other's points instead. 

Ace concludes that it's a very fun thing to watch other students fight it out with each other while he's watching it all on the other side of the net.

" TIME'S UP! " Present mic declares, right as Ace finishes the rest of his burger.

To conclude, all students agree that Ace and Haruta are the personifications of the _devil_ and a _hellion_ respectively.


	15. How do pirates eat at a party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Would they drink till they passed out or eat till they passed out

With the cavalry battle finally over, the audience breaks out into different conversations instantly, each holding their own discussions about the students and eager to know the results of the battle.

Ace happily filters out the little rude and snarky remarks here and there about what he did, how sucky his attitude during the fight was, and questions about why he's even in the hero course. He's lived his life as a pirate ~~and is still one~~ if anything, filtering out nasty and rude comments thrown at him every now and then has practically become second nature for him.

But just because he's used to it, doesn't mean those around him are. 

Eijirou's not so happy hearing those remarks thrown at Ace not so subtly, and Haruta's having a very hard time keeping it together as it is. It's only when the two look to Ace, seeing his calm and heck care attitude, do they actually calm down.

  
  
  
" Get off! " Haruta scolds lightly, noticing that Ace hasn't bothered to move off his shoulders even after Hizashi announced the end of the cavalry battle.  
  
  
  
" But you're comfy. " Ace says, leaning down and hugging Haruta's head as a silent protest. " Sit on Marco then. " The swordsman mercilessly throws Ace off his shoulders by a grab to the knees, and a swing down to the ground.  
  
  
  
Sadly for him, Ace manages to land on his feet right right before his body makes contact with the rough ground.   
  
  
  
" Marco's not here. " The freckled teen says, heaving out a small sigh at the fact.  
  
  
  
" You do know that you can go see him during the break, right? " Izou says, hand on his hip as he rests his weight on a leg. " Doesn't make it any better. " Ace sulks, takes out a cup (bucket) of Jello from his backpack and starts eating, the grape flavour Jello making him feel better instantly.  
  
  
" Now, to announce the results of the cavalry battle. " Aizawa's monotonous voice echoes throughout the stadium, silencing the noisy audience temporarily.  
  
  
" In first place...Team Todoroki! " Present Mis announces, bringing up the excitement in the stadium.  
  
  
" In second place...Team Bakugo! " The Applause continues, though the strangled cry of strong frustration coming from a particular explosive boy brings the mood down a tad.  
  
  
" In third place with a tie...Is team Hitoshi and Ace? " The confusion is clear in Hizashi's voice, but it doesn't bring the mood down as the audience continues their applause.  
  
  
" In fourth place....Is team Midoriya! " Said boy broke out into a fountain of tears, drowning the ground and making a small pool made of tears at his feet.  
  
  
" When did we get more points? " Ace asks, confused. ' _Weren't we just terrorizing everyone for the fun of it?_ ' He thinks, bringing a hand to his chin in contemplation.

  
  
Eventually, he gives and just takes it as Haruta's master skills coming into play while he was distracted.

" Now, before we release you guys for lunch, we are going to draw lots for for the final round! " Right as she says this, Ace gets hit in the face with narcolapsey and knocks out once more.

Which is a surprise by itself, since it's barely been an hour since the last attack hit.

  
\---  
  
  
By the time lunch break comes, Ace is already up and running, throwing a hasty goodbye to Eijirou as he runs like the wind straight to the second year stadium where Marco is. Izou and Thatch too.  
  
  
He runs through the hallway, eyes searching for the familiar hair styled like a pineapple along the way.  
  
  
Not soon after, when he's at the end of one of the hallways, he finally catches sight of his boyfriend and speeds up with a happy, goofy grin on his face.  
  
  
" Marco! " He happily greets, running so fast that he can't stop, and just rams right into the unsuspecting pirate, catching him off guard.  
  
  
They both fall to the ground with a loud _thump_ , Marco's back meeting the ground while his arms are circled around Ace to make sure he doesn't injure himself.  
  
  
" Was that really necessary, yoi? " He groans out, and Ace just laughs at him, knowing that Marco isn't really injured.  
  
  
" Let's eat! I'm starving! " He says, sounding more like Luffy if anything, but eh, who's so heartless as to stop a sixteen year old teenager from eating his beloved meat?  
  
  
" Do you want to eat here or in the mess hall, yoi? " Marco asks, moving so as to stand back up on the ground with Ace still hugging him with his arms wrapped around like a octopus.  
  
  
  
" Let's eat in the mess hall, I could smell the meat they've been cooking all the way from the freshmen stadium. " His laughter resembles that of an evil cackle but Marco doesn't even want to question it, if others suffering keeps his boyfriend happy, then so be it.

\---

So, lunch was great.

Ace managed to eat out the mess hall.

And he was the first one there - minus his small group of five - before everyone else arrived. So there's that.

To sum things up in a nice, civilised way. Ace, Marco, Haruta, Thatch, and Izou ate their lunch like pirates who've not eaten for a whole day after a nice, long fight.

Just to be clear, it's the Luffy standard of being starved after fighting for a while kind of hungry.

They did leave behind scraps for the rest of the students who were too slow for their own good, and were most _definitely_ sent looks of horror, anger, and disbelief as the victims watched the five happily eat right in front of their very own eyes. 

After that delightful little lunch, and a petty " Serves them right! " Thrown by Haruta with Thatch agreeing with him for some weird reason that Ace has no idea about, the five head back to the freshmen stadium to watch the recreational games.

Ace and Haruta head back while Marco, Thatch, and Izou tag along with the excuse of, " The second year stadium's boring without you two there. " which no one really buys, but eh, who cares.

The five take their seats in the students section of the seats and happily watch the recreational games begin.

The ball race was _hilarious_ to watch for the five teens, seeing the students blunder about and trip on their own two feet on the track made Thatch, Haruta, and Ace cackle in glee. 

Their cackles made the students seated nearby have shivers run up their spines, making them wisely shuffle away to get out of the radius of the three sadistic teens.

Well, it's a good thing that Thatch isn't a first year.

The scavenger hunt was going great, keyword ' _was_ ', it was going great for the five pirates, that is until one of the students got a card that _specifically_ states he had to bring in a orange cowboy hat with a smiling and sad face on it. 

No, the hat's an exact replica of the one Luffy gave Ace before he set sail as a pirate, and it's also a gift his mothers got him as a congratulations for entering UA.

Ace was not happy with it ~~_at all_~~ , so the obvious thing to do next is to deny the existence of the card _completely_.

Marco's seated next to him, discreetly holding his hand so as comfort his sour mood. 

" You do know that the card is still here, right? " The student rhetorically asks, holding up the card up inbetween his middle and index finger so the freckled teen can clearly see it.

An awkward silence falls on their area, Ace not moving his head to even look at his fellow schoolmate standing in front of his seat that's behind the wall, extremely awkward. 

~~_Suffer for ruining the fun_ ~~

And when the silence continues to go on for far too long, Haruta and Thatch firmly decide take matters into their own hands and end it. 

" Hey look over there! " Thatch exclaims, putting on a surprised expression as he points to a direction opposite him. The student looks at him confused but eventually turns around to look at where Thatch is pointing at.

_Swish_

With a swipe of his arms, leaving a small gust of wind in his wake, the card's now in Thatch's clutch. 

" Hey! That's mine, give it back! " The student exclaims, bending over the wall and swiping his arms in an attempt to get the card back.

" Let me think about it...Nah! " Like a child, Thatch gives a mischievous smirk and throws the card up into the air right as the student almost manages to grab hold of it. " Oops. "

In the words of the UA students who witnessed the next few scenes unfold, " The evil pompadour styled teen tossed the card into the air, followed by the gremlin launching himself up into the air, pulling his sword out from it's sheath and slashing it into a hundred pieces. "

One can hear a faint sniffle in the background at the recollection of the traumatic event. 

" If that wasn't enough, the blond one who looks like a pineapple, lit the pieces of paper on _fire,_ and _smiled_ as he watched those pieces burn to ashes. " Their faces pale drastically seeing the blue flames teen casually leaning against his seat, watching the students recollect the recent event to the press.

" It gets even worse from there, the guy who was given the card started shouting and blaming them for his loss, so he demanded an apology from the three. " They shiver in fear ~~as they should~~ , " When they didn't apologise, the dude got angry and started throwing a tantrum, which in turn made the one who was fanning himself lose his cool because the guy knocked over something that spilled all over the his clothes, staining it. "

To elaborate, Izou snapped his fan shut, stood up from his seat with his eyes closed, and the four Whitebeard pirates instantly shimmied away from him. By then, it was too late for the poor soul who'd angered Izou, he was pummeled to the ground and lost all the confidence he ever had with _a_ _few **sharp**_ words.

Needless to say, when all was said and done, he was crying on the ground curled up on his side right as the recreational games ended.

" Who's going up first? " Ace asks, now seating with his class, totally ignoring the sniffling kid he and the other four teens just left for others to deal with.

They're pirates, they don't deal with stuck up assholes.

Granted the stuck up asshole in this scenario is a teen who barely knows the harshness of the pirate world, but eh, potato tomato. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I sprained my ankle 🤠


	16. Sadism amidst the chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Ace becomes more of a little shit than ever before

Sadly enough for Haruta, his disaster buddy, Thatch, along with Marco and Izou, had to go back to the second year stadium's or they'd be disqualified.

It's not like he'll stay sad for long anyways, Thatch has cracked up a prank that will no doubt get him in _big_ trouble, and Haruta is _definitely_ in on it.

" It's fine as long as no one's dying. " Was Marco's only words when the three saw and heard the maniac smiles, and evil laughter coming from the two. 

" Or dead. " Izou adds. 

But that's for another time, in the near future in which Ace is not a part of, at least he hopes he's not a part of. 

Whatever, that's a problem for future Ace, present Ace just wants to have a good fight. 

Once the three older teens are gone, Haruta and Ace also decide to split up and head back to their classes, _for now_.

" Have fun! " Ace good heartedly throws out once he notices Midoriya on stage, shaking minutely under the watchful eyes of the audience. 

" For the first round, it's Izuku Midoriya from class 1A versus Hitoshi Shinso from class 1B! " Hizashi announces, excited as always. 

" What's his quirk? " Eijirou asks, seating inbetween Bakugo and Ace while everyone else sits on the other side of the seats.

Except Todoroki, he's sitting on Ace's left.

" Brainwashing. " Ojiro explains to them, " He has someone respond to something he says, and takes control of their mind like this. It's only broken when someone physically touches the victim. " 

It's a tense silence. 

" That's actually quite a useful quirk to have. " Ace breaks the silence, munching on an apple slice as a mid afternoon snack. 

All eyes turn to him, questioning looks on their faces. Todoroki's looking at the stage silently, observing the two fighting teens every move. 

" What? " Ace asks.

" Isn't his quirk more of a villain quirk though? " Mineta, who Ace has categorised as 'purple grape pervert', questions.

" Please, all powers can be classified as a ' _villain type quirk_ '. For example, If I wanted to, I could set buildings on fire with my quirk and easily become a villain. It's just a matter of how we use our given powers, not how we see them. Isn't that what Thirteen said? " After his elaboration, Ace turns his attention back to the fight at hand.

Shinso's got Midoriya under his command and is currently making him walk out of stage among the boo's and jeers from the crowd. Hollers of how unfair the fight is and remarks of how much of a villain quirk it is appearing every now and then.

" Bunch of cowards, not liking what they can't control. " He quips, not going unheard by Eijirou, Todoroki, or Bakugo. 

It's only when Aizawa delivers some _sharp_ words, do they change their minds, ' _Bunch of chickens. '_

When Midoriya miraculously manages to free himself of the brainwashing by _breaking his finger ~~does he have a grudge against his fingers or what~~_ , and wins the round by tossing the purple haired teen over his shoulder and making him land out of bounds, effectively ending the match, the audience at first, gives scattered applause before breaking out completely. 

" What an intense match! So with that, Midoriya will be going on to round two! " Present mic declares amidst the applause. 

With the end of Midoriya's match, Todoroki's match is up next, and he's going up against Sero. The two get up from their seats and head for the exit. 

Ace waves them off 'goodbye' whilst munching on his last few apple slices.

It takes some time before the two teens are called to the stage, and when they are finally called up to fight, Ace has finished his apple slices and gets hit with narcolapsey like a sledgehammer, knocking out immediately.

When Ace wakes up, he's looking directly at ice, not just a little ice, it's ice throughout his _entire_ field of vision. 

In the background, he can faintly hear Hizashi announce Todoroki as the winner of the round, making him let out an "Ah." In realisation before abruptly lighting his body into fire, earning cries of surprise from those nearby. 

" Hey Ace, do you mind helping us melt the ice? " He can hear Hizashi ask as his classmates move closer to the exit for cover.

" No problem! " He happily agrees, launching himself into the air and landing on top of the ice. He looks down at the ground and spots Todoroki and Sero who's stuck in the ice, " You might wanna cover your eyes! " He warns, earning a minute head nod from Todoroki and making Eijirou resolutely put on sunglasses.

He turns his body into fire completely, flames burning bigger, brighter, and hotter as the seconds go by. 

" Where'd you get that? " Kaminari asks, noticing that Kirishima is the only one heeding his twin's advice aside from Todoroki and Sero, " I bring it with me everywhere I go, for cases like this. Want one? I brought extra. " Eijirou offers.

" Okay...? " Kaminari takes the extra pair of sunglasses and puts it on, instantly noticing his eyes aren't in as much pain from the brightness like before.

Ace's fire temperature is now hotter than lava, and brighter than the sun, and he's _not_ stopping anytime soon.

" You sure you don't want one Bakugo? " All Eijirou gets is a click of a tongue and a hand put out begrudgingly, to which he happily places the extra pair of sunglasses in.

By the time Ace has made all the ice fully melt into a puddle and evaporate into the air due to the sheer heat he's given off, everyone's sweated enough to fill a swimming pool. 

Standing back on the ground and 'turning off' his fire, Ace immediately heads for the two teens who were closest to him. 

" You doing okay Todoroki? Sero? " He asks, sighing in relief when his flames didn't hurt the two. His control of his fire isn't _exactly_ perfect, yet.

Ignoring the look of awe on Sero, Ace notes the slight, yet evident look of sadness in Todoroki's eyes.

Taking note of Todoroki's mood, Ace pats Sero on the back and brings them to the exit.

Ace may or may not have gotten lost on the way back to the student area after dropping off Sero and Todoroki at the infirmary. Only managing yo make it back right as the ~~advertising~~ match between Lida and Hatsume ended. 

" For our next match, Ashido Mina from class 1A will be facing off 'samurai' Edward Haruta! " Ace does a spit take at those words, " EDWARD?! HARUTA WHAT THE HECK! " He abruptly stands from his seat and yells in surprise at the swordsman, only getting a tongue stuck out at him in response. 

" Hey Ace, what's got you so worked up, you okay there? " Eijirou asks, bringing Ace back down to his seat, " How could I be fine? That little gremlin of a swordsman's got Pops last name! " He begins grumbling words to himself as he glares daggers at Haruta, not noticing the raised eyebrow Bakugo gives him nor the unrecognizable look from his twin.

So Haruta won the match. 

Moving on, " Now for the next match, you all know him as the devil's reincarnation, from class 1A, the one who's cause all kinds of headache since the start of the UA festival, Kirishima Ace! " He can't tell if he should take that as a comliment or an insult..... _yeah_ , he'll take it as a compliment. 

In the background, he can hear Haruta's gremlin-like laughter, " Just wait till I get back at you, we'll see who's laughing then. " Did he get questioning looks from his twin, Bakugo, and todoroki (who just got back) ? Most _definitely_. Does he care? Not at all.

And his next course of action after that, is honestly a little too much along Luffy's line of actions.

In all honesty, yes, he forgot to head to the back of the stadium where the students were supposed to go before the start of every match. Which explains why he jumped from the student section of seats right to the ground. 

There's a good height difference of Kaido.

_C_ _lose_ to Kaido's height. 

He's spent too much time with Luffy growing up, he's starting to behave like him. _Oh god._

" ....Is the backpack necessary? " Midnight asks, finally voicing out the question that's been on everyone's mind since the start of the day. " Yes. " The resolute answer is followed by a bite of a chicken leg way too big to be considered normal.

" You do know it's against the rules to bring in things that additional items during a fight, right? " She places a hand on her hip, looking at Ace questioningly.

" It is? " The freckled teen repeats, receiving a "Yes!" From the majority of the stadium, Hizashi and Aizawa included. " If you say so, but I'm keeping my hat! "

He doesn't give them a chance to voice their rejection, sliding his hat down to his back before taking off his backpack by the straps, he tosses it to the outside of the stadium, a resounding _thud_ echoes out once the backpack hits the ground.

"...."

" ...The heck? How heavy _is_ that thing? " Kaminari asks looking to Eijirou by default. _Okay_ , he may or may not have been spending too much time with Bakugo as well. He blames Eijirou, the younger Kirishima's too nice to reject a good ninety-nine percent of the time.

" What are you looking at me for? In case you haven't noticed, Ace doesn't really let me carry his backpack for him. I'm just happy he's wearing the gym clothes, top and all. " He diverts the topic, but he isn't wrong, his devil of a twin brother really _is_ wearing the gym shirt, granted the front of the shirt is open, flapping about in the wind freely, not closed _at all_ , but who's complaining. 

Eijirou is pretty sure their mothers are crying tears of joy with this simple, stupid thing. 

No.

He's _not_ shedding tears of joy, they're manly sweat coming out from his eyes. 

" He's going up against someone _also_ from class 1A, the sparkling boy, Aoyama Yuga! " At least his introduction doesn't scream trouble magnet.

As Midnight signals the battle to start, Ace hastily bows toward his Aoyama and Midnight. 

" I'm sorry for the trouble I'll cause. " Using his Kenbunshoku Haki, he stands back up and immediately jumps to the side, dodging the laser beam aimed right where he stood. 

Multiple laser beams are thrown at him, all if which he dodges with ease. 

His arm right arm is pulled back into a fist, his feet are planted firmly to the ground, and right as Aoyama gets the expected tummy ache from overusing his quirk, Ace turns his hand into flames, that sickening yet typical D. grin on his face. 

What do you know, Haruta's in the line of fire too. _What a wonderful coincidence._

" HIKEN! " 

His attack hits Aoyama head on, strong enough to make him fly right out of the stadium, making Ace win the match. But _oh no_ , his attack isn't dying down, it's heading right for Haruta, whatever shall he do? 

" ACE YOU PIECE OF SHIT! ALL I DID WAS LAUGH, SHOOTING YOUR STUPID FIRE AT ME DOES _NOT_ MAKE US EVEN. " _Oh no_ , his attack's not stopping, it's relentlessly following the swordsman wherever he goes.

" WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF MY ATTACK! " He can most definitely hear Haruta, he just prefers _not_ to.

" Hey Kirishima, " Tokoyami calls for the younger twin's attention while everyone's eyes are watching their classmate laugh like Satan's finally getting his revenge against his long time rival.

" Your brother's getting more sadistic as the time goes on. " And no one objects to that, can they even object to it? The boy's the most sadistic, evil, teen they've ever seen. And he doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon

" Really? I haven't noticed. " One can drown in the sarcasm Eijirou's giving. 


	17. When things get too much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes a little time away from everything can go a long way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right :) let's get this damn sports festival over and done with, if I write one more chapter of this damn arc I'll straight up just do a time skip and be done with it.
> 
> Can you tell I'm just about done with this damn UA Sports festival? :D
> 
> Also, there's a bonus round in the first round of the final battle which Ibara lost in against Haruta, so she's not in the second round, I'd write it in the chapter, but I swear I'll just end up rage deleting it instead if I have to read through it. I'm sorry(?), eh not really though :)

After Ace sauntered his way out the exit with his backpack back on it's rightful place, leaving a grumpy and cursing Haruta to the hands of class 1B, and a half traumatised Aoyama to the staff ~~sorry~~ , the next match begins. 

He walks through the hallways, making his way to the infirmary for the mandatory checkup every student must have after a fight. 

His stomach rumbles, deciding for him that now is as good a time as any to have a snack. He digs through his backpack while walking, eyes not paying attention to where he's going.

His Haki on alert in case there's any unsavoury people up ahead or close by. 

Happily humming the tune of Binks' sake, Ace finally manages to dig out his desired snack, a whole loaf of milk bread that's somehow still in pristine condition despite being stuffed into the 'stuffed full till it's on the verge of bursting' bag.. 

Distracted with his milk bread, Ace collides face first into something sturdy and stumbles back slightly from the impact, his humming coming to a stop.

" Sorry about that, I wasn't watching where I was going. " He gives a proper ninety degree bow to the person he collided into. 

"..." He gets no reply and straightens back up to take a look at who exactly he bumped into. 

He doesn't recognise the person at first, it take his brain a few seconds to recall who the flaming face belongs to exactly, and when he does remember, it's a _very_ awkward silence that follows.

Endeavor ~~glares~~ stares at him, and he stares back. Both of them not seeming to want to make the first move and break the silence. 

_Chomp_

He takes a bite out of his milk bread. 

_Chomp_

He takes another. The tension in the atmosphere given by the pro hero not phasing Ace in the slightest.

When he figures that he's done enough staring for the day, he gives a slight shrug of his shoulders and walks on, passing by the man.

" Shoto will surpass you and become the number one hero. " With the abrupt declaration made by the number two hero, Ace files that into his mind as something to be discussed with Todoroki for another time.

He has a feeling he's not going to be liking Endeavor all that much in the near future.

" Hi recovery girl, I'm here for the checkup. " He greets, sliding open the door and walking into the room where the nurse is.

For some strange reason, Recovery girl gives off the same feeling his sisters on the Moby Dick gave everytime a brother or two got hurt when they were out, comforting, calming, and this close to clocking them on the head due to their stupidity. Or, maybe it's a feeling all nurses give.

" Ace, it's good to see you again, I have something I'd like to ask you while you're here. " She pats down on the infirmary bed, gesturing for Ace to take a seat.

Once he's sitting on the infirmary bed, recovery girl starts on the normal procedures, " Do you remember that salve you made Uraraka put on Aizawa and Thirteen back at USJ? " She starts off, calm and collected. 

" Yeah, why do you ask? Do you want the recipe for it, I can give it to you if you want. It's not that hard to make if that's what you're worried about. " All he receives is a hum of agreement from the nurse as she checks his eyes.

" You're good to go. " She announces, done with Ace's check up and gives him a piece of candy, as well as pen and paper, " I'd like the recipe for that now if you don't mind, it'll useful for those heroes who always get injured out on the field. " 

And Ace just laughs at that.

He steals the entire bowl of candy right as he leaves the infirmary, hearing the heroine throw a curse or two at him for his gluttony on his way out.

" Hey guys, so what did I miss? " He takes his seat next to his brother and Todoroki, uncaring of the eyes burning looking at the bowl of candy in his possession. 

They can look, but he's not giving them the candy. 

Unwrapping three pieces and swiftly tossing them into his mouth, Ace listens as Eijirou recounts what he's missed.

Once he's done, Ace has finished a quarter of the bowl in the span of those three minutes Eijirou used recounting the events.

" So your next match is with that Tetsutetsu? " He gets a nod of confirmation, " And he's from class B? " Another nod of confirmation, and he lets a grin grace his freckled face.

" Where are you going? " Eijirou asks confused at the suddenness of Ace standing from his seat and heading off to a certain direction, " To make a bet with a prankster, just win your match with that guy, okay? " 

He doesn't wait for an answer as he runs off for class 1B, leaving his twin to answer their extremely befuddled classmates questions, " Did he just say 'make a bet'? " Suprisingly enough, Todoroki's the one to ask first.

" Haruta, let's make a bet! " Without any prior warning, Ace barges into class 1B's seating area, candy bowl in hand and all.

" What kind of bet? " Haruta, doesn't even bat an eyelid as the fire user takes a seat beside him and places his backpack down to the ground, the bowl of candy cradled in his lap.

Questioning looks are thrown to the two by the rest of the class, but they keep quiet, curious to see what the bet is about.

" Your class has someone called Tetsutetsu going up against my twin, and I wanna make a bet on who wins! " Haruta swipes a piece of candy from the bowl and pops it into his mouth before Ace has a chance to snatch it back.

" Okay, what're we betting on then? " He's already going to lose a good chunk of his allowance for the next two months due to his negotiation with Ace, he doesn't want to flat out go broke.

" I need a sparring partner, so you'll be my sparring partner for the next two weeks if Eijirou wins. " He gets thrown the stink eye by Haruta, " Like _Hell_ that'll happen, if Tetsutetsu wins, you'll be polishing my swords for the next two weeks. " 

To be fair, on the Moby Dick, Ace was known as someone impossible to spar with, not because of his ridiculous body physique and devil fruit combined. ~~_No sirrie._~~ But because of the wayhe always brought his sparring partners on the brink of death by exhaustion due to his never ending stamina. 

They can thank young Ace running around a mountain like a brat all day round for years on end for that.

" Please, like my younger brother can lose, I've trained him myself. " With a puff of proudness in his chest, Ace tosses another piece of candy into his mouth while the rest of class 1B suddenly breaks out into disagreement about his statement.

No other word is said between the two pirates as their eyes watch the stage when the two students from class A and B finally enter.

\----

" Ha! I win! Don't worry though, I'll make sure our spars aren't so bad! " With a few words of goodbye to the dejected students of class of 1B, Ace heads back to his class, happier than when he had left.

He chooses to ignore the grumpy cross of arms and curse words spewing from Haruta.

To be fair, the fight between Tetsutetsu and Eijirou could have gone both ways, it was quite an even fight, and it was only through sheer force of will that Eijirou won the fight. 

The slight change in mood doesn't escape the eyes of his classmates though, watching him from the corner of their eyes as he happily takes his seat next to Todoroki while Eijirou's being sent to the infirmary along with Tetsutetsu.

A few fights later and the second round of the fights are beginning, the younger Kirishima's going up against Haruta, Bakugo's going against Tokoyami, Ace is going up against Iida, and Todoroki's going up against Midoriya. 

The first fight starts off with Eijirou fighting against Haruta. Hizashi being the emcee along with Aizawa is a wonderful thing to have happened, be it his enthusiasm coupled with Aizawa's 'I'm done with this shit let me sleep' enthusiasm for life, Ace can always count on those two to make fights seem more fun.

" The winner of this match is Edward Haruta of class B! " With the declaration from Midnight, the crowd goes wild and applause the two for their amazing match.

" Next up, Bakugo Katsuki versus Tokoyami Fumikage! " Hizashi announces, making the crowd go even wilder, all wanting to know if the explosion boy will be stopped here by the shadow quirk boy or not. 

" Begin! " Midnight signalling them to start is in sync with Ace biting down on the last candy in the bowl.

Feeling thirsty, Ace takes out a lidded cup from the side pocket of his backpack and opens it, revealing a slushy safely inside. " Does your backpack have _everything_? " Kaminari asks exasperated when he notices Ace happily drinking the slushy. Sero turns around in his seat to look at Ace.

" No, it doesn't have any money. " Kaminari and Sero cant tell if their surprised or impressed with the answer.

Halfway through the fight, Ace decides it's time for him to head down to the waiting room where Iida already is. He leaves his bag to the capable hands of Todoroki, and to avoid being told off by Aizawa, he reluctantly parts with his hat, asking Kaminari, Sero, and Todoroki to keep an eye on it.

" It was a close fight, but the one who came out on top in the end is Bakugo! " With the result of the fight out and Tokoyami being led to the infirmary for recovery, the next fight begins.

" Now for the fight we've all been drea- I mean eagerly waiting for! The devil reincarnated, Kirishima Ace versus the very quick, Tenya Iida! " The audience can't decide if they should clap or hide for cover, so they go for both, they hide behind those sturdy enough to withstand fire and clap with their heads peaked out. 

It's a very weird sight to see for the students.

Ace walks onto the stage, hatless, and Bagless, it's a miracle he's not shirtless.

Yes, it's a miracle Ace isn't shirtless so let the teen have the front of his gym shirt opened. 

" Are you two ready? " Midnight asks once the two boys have entered the stage. " Yes! " A firm confirmation from Iida, " Eh. " A vague answer from Ace.

" Good enough. Battle start! " With the signal, Iida doesn't waste anytime and launches into his attack. His exhausts puff out as he kicks out his leg, aiming for Ace's side.

With a narrow miss, Ace jumps back and lands three steps away from the edge of the boundary, practically in a taunting way as he sends a smirk Iida's way.

Not one to take provocative taunts, Iida continues on his attack, launching himself toward Ace for his next move. 

Now, in his mind, Ace did not account for Iida to take a hold of his shirt and attempt to _flip_ _him out of the arena._ If he _had_ accounted for it, he wouldn't be standing where he just landed **_shirtless_** , **_hatless_** , and **_bagless,_** his whole damn back is exposed to the world now.

The stadium falls into silence as all eyes land on his back, on the birthmark spread across his entire back resembling more of a scar than anything.

Still in place, Ace's mind freezes for a moment, unable to register the fact that his shirt is off and his back is exposed. And when mummers break throughout the audience, talking about his 'scar' his mind starts back up once more. But with his mind able to process what just happened, the indescribable emotions begin to manifest in his chest and swell up the longer he stays on stage.

" Iida, give me back the shirt! " He lunges for the shirt still in the confused Iida's hold, the ongoing match thrown to the farthest recesses of his mind, it not being of importantance at the moment.

When he does manage to snatch back his gym shirt and put it back on, his brain finally catches onto what just happened, and what he just showed to his younger brother. 

Not really wanting to look his twin in the eyes, Ace lands a spinning kick on Iida, sending him out of bounds and moving onto the next round. Not waiting for the results to be announced, Ace rushes to the exit, uncaring if it's rude or inappropriate. 

His 'scar' just got shown to the whole damn world, what he needs to do right now, is to calm his swelling emotions stirring in the depths of his heart, _not_ stay a second longer on the damn stage.

\---

Kirishima stands from his seat grabs his twin's bag and hat, and runs for the exit, leaving a frowning Bakugo and confused classmates behind.

" Kirishima, where are you going? Todoroki and Midoriya's match is starting soon! " Sero asks before the red head is out of hearing distance, " To see Ace. " 

He runs through the hallways, looking to and fro for a sign, _any sign_ of Ace, he stops in his tracks when he catches sight of Haruta, looking as disheveled as Kirishima's feeling. Both of them say nothing, both unsure of what to say about what just happened.

Kirishima's silent with questions he's had since things started getting weirder than usual. But what he seeks isn't important right at this moment, what's important is that he needs to make sure Ace is okay, that he isn't going to break down and have a panic attack like he did that _one time, just once,_ when they were eight.

That night, he'd woken up to Ace tugging at the roots of his hair hyperventilating, short of breath, a stream of tears rolling down his cheeks, and unable to respond to Eijirou's calls of worry for him to wake up for a long time.

He woke up in silent scream that night, unable to calm down for the remainder of the night while Eijirou encased him in a hug, trying to ground him to reality.

They never told their mothers what happened that night, Ace promising that what had happened was just a one time thing, and Eijirou - for the most part - believing him. 

And there really wasn't a repeat of that night, and Eijirou's grateful for it, but there's always been a small voice in the back of his mind, telling him that it'll happen again, and he'll be unable to help when it does happen.

It's a scenario that Eijirou never wants to happen for as long as he lives.

Haruta's been silent, he hasn't made a noise since he ran into Eijirou, most likely to absorbed in his own thoughts to say anything. 

They continue to run through the hallways in search of Ace despite the crippling silence surrounding them, their only focus being to find Ace and nothing else.

The reach a more secluded part of the stadium, the light level is low and there's a small corner shrouded in the shadows. 

Kirishima and Haruta come to a stop, both recognising the faint silhouette hidden in the shadows.

Flushed right up to the corner of the hallway, is Ace, crouched in on himself, as his face is blank and eyes sharp like daggers, narrowed in on nothing in particular as he stares at the ground. 

Kirishima steps up, footsteps soft enough to be heard but not loud enough to startle Ace, he softly calls out, " Ace, you okay? " 

He gets no response, and it worries him. His brows furrow in at seeing how silent his usually cheerful and slightly sadistic brother is.

" I'll call Marco. " Haruta decides after seeing the condition Ace is in, the teen being in a state of mind the swordsman is unable to help him out of.

" Why Marco? " He asks Haruta, softly placing his brother's hat and bag next to Ace so as he can see them. " They're lovers. " The answer makes him go stiff, not knowing what to say.

The questions buried inside continues to build up, wanting to be known so as to get answers, but with the wat Ace is, he shoves them to the side and watches over him. Making sure he's still there until Marco arrives.

They don't have to wait long, within minutes of being called, Marco shows up running through the hallway to get to Ace, his usually laid back expression tossed to the side, as he passes by Kirishima and Haruta and squats in front of Ace.

From there, all Kirishima can do, is wait for Ace to be okay.

\---

What happens after he found a place to hide in is murky, all he remembers before Marco is the hazy images of Eijirou and Haruta finding him, and the slightly murky worried face of Eijirou.

With a shaky breath, he lifts his head from the crook of Marco's neck, loosening the arms circled around him as he slowly regains his bearings, " I'm good. " Marco's arms slowly loosen around him, hesitation clear on his face as he looks Ace in the eyes for any sort of lie. 

He fully releases the hug once he's sure there's no trace of a lie in Ace's words.

The two get to their feet, Ace only able to stand with the help of Marco, " Izou? When did you get here? " He only notices the sharpshooter once he looks at him directly, earning a soft laughter from Marco, his boyfriend glad that he's good enough to ask a question despite how dumb it is.

" Since Marco got here, honestly, am I really that forgettable? " Izou huffs an air of exasperation, fanning himself more as if he's offended even though he isn't, he's just glad that Ace is okay when he hears the laughter that follows from the freckled teen.

Aizawa comes in then, worry in his eyes despite his laid back face, looking at Ace to ensure he's alright.

" You can forfeit the match if you aren't okay, there's no need to force yourself. " He walks closer to Ace, waiting for what his student's answer will be.

" Like I'd waste the chance of a good fight. But I'm wearing my hat whether you like it or not. " He stubbornly announces, shoving the orange hat onto his head, a challenging look in his eyes.

Aizawa gives a smirk, " Like me telling you no has stopped you before. " 

As they head back to the stage, Ace pulls Eijirou to walk with him behind the group wanting to talk with his brother, " Eijirou, there's something I need to tell you, meet me after this is over. " 

He gets a nod of acknowledgement from his brother and splits from Marco, Izou, Haruta and Eijirou, the two older going back to their stadium to fetch Thatch and the other two heading back to their seats.

Haruta had forfeited his match against Ace due to reasons he didn't want to say, and Bakugo had went against Todoroki and lost by margin. It's now the final fight, Ace against Todoroki.

Aizawa heads back to where Hizashi's waiting for him, not saying anything else to Ace.

He walks out the exit and onto the stage, the majority of the audience claps for him despite how late he is. " Sorry about the delay folks! Now for the fight we've all been curious about, from class 1A, Todoroki Shoto! Versus— Also from class 1A, the devil himself, Kirishima Ace! " 

Is it just Ace, or did he get promoted from 'devil reincarnated' to 'the devil himself'? Eh, as long as they know who he is who cares.

" READY? " He gets into position, standing opposite Todoroki, the teen looking as unbothered as ever.

" SHOTOOOO! " Hold up, do his eyes deceive him or Is that an actual flinch that came from Todoroki? " USE MY POWER AND DEFEAT HIM. " 

The teen doesn't even acknowledge his father's words, which on second thought isn't the wisest thing to do, the number two shouts out his name once more, the flames on his costume increasing in intensity. 

And it's then and there, in that exact moment the answer to Endeavor and Shoto's weird father-son relationship hits Ace like a sack of bricks, " Father issues? " 

It's more of a statement if anything, but Todoroki nods nonetheless. 

" GO! " Midnight signals for then to start.

" The issues caused by his actions or his personality? " He asks, as he dodges a wave of ice aimed at him, " Both. " 

Well color Ace surprised, his gut feeling about him not liking Endeavor _was_ right.

" I'm going to take a guess and say that Midoriya's already talked to you about how your power's yours and yours alone? " He gets a nod of confirmation as he dodges another wave of ice sent his way.

Deciding to get this fight over and one with, he releases a Hiken aimed at Todoroki, forcing teen to erect an ice wall to protect himself. 

While he's attack is still strong, Ace runs up to Todoroki and aims a punch to his stomach. Missing by a hair when Todoroki catches onto his thoughts and coats his stomach in ice for protection.

He turns his ice coated hand into fire and breaks free, twists his body to the left and sends his left leg right to Todoroki's back, knocking the boy to the ground.

" Still unsure or yourself? " Ace can't help but feel like he's on a roll today, " Meet me after the awards ceremony is over. " He immobolises the teen and is declared the winner by Midnight.

He helps Todoroki to his feet and give him an apology for being so rough. They head off to the infirmary to get their mandatory check up Recovery girl. 

By the time they're given the all clear from the nurse, the awards ceremony is already here. 

They stand in their respective places on the podium, waiting for when they'll be announced. " Nice get up. " The freckled teen off handedly comments, making the feral Bakugo flare up more than what he already was before Ace.

" PRESENTING OUR WINNERS FOR THE FRESHMEN SPORTS FESTIVAL! " The podium begins to move upwards, the ceiling above them splitting open to the crowd above.

" Now, presenting your medals, will be none other than —" A figure drops from the sky, standing up straight with all his muscles outlined by the tight suit.

" _I AM HERE TO PRESENT THE MEDALS!_ "

" _All might will be the one to present the medals!_ " 

The two speak over each other, and a dejected All might appears, Midnight apologises to the symbol of peace in embarrassment. 

He present the medals one one, starting from Todoroki ending at Ace, Bakugo was a little to feral and ended holding his medal between his teeth.

The UA Sports Festival ends on a high note with All Might messing up on his usual catchphrase and the audience members confuse and laughing good naturedly at his words. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, I'm a second away from knocking out, I'll revise the chapter later. Imma sleep now :)


	18. A relatively chill day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the most chill chapter I've ever wrote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got distracted like a third of the way through the chapter, then I just got lazy and slept 😀 Am I sorry? Surrreee, let's go with that :)
> 
> Do I have more than three different fanfics planned out in my head? Yes, and I hate myslef for doing it lmaooo. 
> 
> Have I discovered the evil of online shopping? Irrelevant to the fanfic, but yes, yes I have, and i would like to strangle my past-self for spending so much freaking money in less than half a month. 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the chapter, I'm already writing out the next one so hopefully I'll post it soon. Hopefully. :)

" So, what did you want to tell me about? " Crossing his arms over his chest and sending a questioning look at his brother, Eijirou waits for Ace to explain, not wanting to put any unnecessary pressure on Ace.  
  
  
  
It's right after the ceremony ends when Ace rushes off the podium, throws a out location and what time to meet to Todoroki as he drags Eijirou away from the stage and to a secluded area.  
  
  
  
He doesn't know how to explain ~~his mess of a life~~ , so he decides to start at the beginning, " So, you know how I've always said things related to pirates, the grand line, and treasure since we were kids? "   
  
  
  
He tells his story, his story of before he came to this strange, strange world, a world where pirates were everywhere, sailing the seas and doing as they wanted with their freedom despite the bounties on them, all wanting to find the one treasure his birth father, the Pirate King, left behind, the _One Piece._   
  
  
  
He tells of how he grew up as the son of the Pirate king, hated and scorned of simply because of his blood. He tells of how he grew up on a mountain, raised by bandits which was led by a rather strong and tough woman who had put up with all the crazy antics thrown at her through the years, and he can't help the small smile that spreads on his face as he recalls of his two brothers he found.   
  
  
  
And Eijirou can see the love in Ace's eyes as he tells of all the adventures they had, of all the stupid things they've ever done as kids. It's a look Eijirou knows all too well, a look Ace flashes him when he's proud of him for something he's done.   
  
  
  
The freckled teen tells of all the adventures he's had as a captain of the spade pirates, of all the weird and cool things he's found (and it suddenly makes sense to Eijirou why Ace isn't so phased by _a lot_ of things that would typically make others shit their pants at the mere sight, who knew a world full of pirates was so _crazy_?), and of how he got his power from the _mera mera no mi_ , a devil fruit.  
  
  
  
Ace can see the questions practically written across Eijirou's face as he tells of the mysterious devil fruits and what they can do, ' _I'll ask Marco to answer his questions about them later._ ' He figures, continuing to tell of his crewmates and the new family he'd found on the Moby Dick.  
  
  
  
He tells of his older brothers and sisters on the ship, of all the fun and danger they've had together fighting Marines and newbie pirates, all until a _lying son of a bastard related to trash_ broke it all in but a single night.  
  
  
  
He leaves out the part of Thatch's death, unable to even recount the series of events close after as his throat constricts on itself and tears flood his eyes.  
  
  
  
It's a long, _long_ story, a story Eijirou's heard of through bits and pieces here and there, but never the whole thing. At the end if it all, his brain is muddled, still in the middle of absorbing the information dump given by Ace.  
  
  
  
He takes a while to process it all, leaving Ace to awkwardly stand in front of him in the far too suffocating silence. Ace's thoughts run rampant as he's unsure of what his twin brother will do next.  
  
  
  
" Huh, who would've guessed that my brother was so manly? " Those words, paired with that bright and reassuring smile, dispels all the negative thoughts like a ray of sunshine after a long mad gloomy rainy day.  
  
  
  
It's warm, and its inviting, and it makes Ace feel at ease. He lets out a breath he's been subconsciously holding, not really liking the sudden realisation that he and the _wonderful_ thing called _secrets_ have a love-hate relationship. First is the secret of him being the son of his birth father, and now with his life as a pirate, will he ever get a break? Probably not, the D's know no such thing as peace and calm. And if that doesn't sum up his entire life, then he doesn't know what does.

  
  
" I wanna meet your boyfriend properly though, and I'm pretty sure mama and mom will wanna meet him too. " Eijirou's thought brings Ace back to the present, and straight to the topic of having to tell their mothers he has a boyfriend.

Oh the joy that is to come.

With how long Ace took explaining his wondrous life as a pirate, it really is no surprise that the freshmen stadium's already empty along with the slowly setting sun in the horizon. 

The twins walk in a comfortable silence, Ace eating a banana and Eijirou checking something on his phone. " We've got the next two days off. " Huh, turns out he was getting a text from the class group chat about what happened while they were gone.

When they reach the gate, both Kirishimas realise that there were people waiting for them at the front gate. 

" Were you guys waiting here this whole time? " Ace asks to the four Whitebeard pirates, to which they simultaneously reply with, " Yes. "

Not knowing what else to say, Ace shrugs his shoulders in dismissal, throws the banana skin over his shoulder which skillfully lands into a trash bin nearby, and stands to next to Marco's side, looking between his pirate family and younger twin brother.

" Everything went well? " Marco asks, sliding his hand with Ace's, fingers intertwining as they look into each others eyes, their eyes clear enough to see their reflection of each other, " Better than what I thought. " He assures, a small smile gracing his face as their grip on each other tightens ever so slightly.

_Cough ahem "still here" cough cough_

They hastily turn away in slight embarrassment when Haruta's fake cough that practically screams ' _I'm uncomfortable enough as it is watching you two lovey dovey lovebirds, I don't want to be traumatised anymore, so please stop_.'

" Let me properly introduce everyone, Marco, Izou, Haruta, and Thatch, meet Kirishima Eijirou, my younger twin brother. Eijirou, meet the Whitebeard pirate commanders. " As shameless and thick skinned as he can get, Ace introduces them to each other once more, completely disregarding the snicker from Izou on the side.

The group of six arrived at the Kirishima house, three scratched and slightly beat up while the other three perfectly fine.

For some strange and unexplainable reason, Eijirou and Haruta started talking about the swords man's sword and how manly it was, and the topic of conversation strayed when Thatch jumped in and input his own thoughts on swords versus guns. And when Izou joined in because of a comment from Haruta about the pros and cons of using a gun, the three straight up started fighting with each other while Eijirou cheered them on. 

Did Ace and Marco try to break up the fight due to it attracting public eye? No, why would they? The three commanders, including Ace, fight on a daily basis over the _stupidest_ things, it's practically a routine for them to break out into a fight with each other _over something at least **once**_ a day. The day just won't feel right if they don't. 

All Marco needs to do as the designated oldest brother, is to make sure no one loses an arm, leg, eye and everything in between.

Nonetheless, Nanako and Yuki welcomed them into the house with open arms and smiles, getting invited to stay for dinner is a bonus.

And when that glorious dinner is over and done with, Ace takes a look at the clock on the wall and decides it's time to head out once more.

" Mama, I'm heading out to do something, I'll be back soon! " He calls out, receiving a noise of acknowledgement from the living room and a quirk of an eyebrow in amusement and slight curiosity from Marco.

He throws his backpack back on, puts his trusty orange hat on his head, and tosses his UA gym shirt to the side before heading out and closing the door shut.

He makes a brisk jog towards the abandoned park he's claimed as his, the content mood from dinner still making it's round.

He runs up to a bench he knows is relatively free of vines and spots a familiar figure sitting on it, hastening his steps he greets, " Todoroki, how was dinner? "

Tonight, is going to be a long night.

\---

" I don't get it, how can a few fruits give powers and take away the ability to swim? It doesn't make any sense. " Its been around an hour since Ace left the Kirishima house to meet up with Todoroki and help the boy sort out his feelings, and Marco seriously doesn't get the people from around here.

Seriously? Getting powers by eating a weird looking, horrid tasting fruit doesn't make sense but being born with a 'quirk' does? At least devil fruits are useful no matter how strange the powers are, more than half the population in this world have really pathetic 'quirks' that even those living in East blue, the most peaceful sea of all the seas, can beat through physical prowess alone.

Wait, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were born and raised in the East blue, the majority of the Straw Hat pirates are from East blue, they're bad examples. Then again, Garp and Dragon did also came from there, and to this day, it's still a miracle how those two Monkey's even managed to procreate.

No really, _how_ , Sengoku himself is still questioning how the heck Monkey D. Garp of all people, the one with the most votes on least likely to have an offspring poll that was held between the marines once, managed to procreate.

Heck, how'd Dragon even find the time in his busy schedule to manage producing a son such as Luffy. But seriously though, _how is it_ that out of the three generations of Monkey's, the first and second generation with the _weirdest_ personality procreate? Forget how quirks make sense, most of the pirate world is still trying to make sense of the _weirdness_ of the _Monkey family_.

Besides, it's seriously unlikely that an answer will be showing itself anytime soon, considering that Garp is well....Garp, he suppose he'll just have to go with the weirdness of the D making it possible for procreation, " Okay, let's start from the top again. " 


	19. The start of something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it good or bad? Only time will tell

Has anyone ever had the feeling like an hour of peace and quiet is just a _little_ bit suspicious? Especially when living in a house full of loud and destructive teenagers where the silence might just be the only given warning before shit hits the fan.

That's exactly what Marco's feeling right now, he appreciated the first five minutes of silence at first, and when the silence hit the ten minutes mark, he started worrying. At the half hour mark he's kept all important work in a safe hidden behind a wall in case things decide to blow up. And by the time the silence reached an hour, Marco has no doubt that _something_ is going to blow up, explode, or catch on fire. 

He creeps out of his room, his Haki on high alert to make sure nothing unsavoury comes flying at him and makes his way down to the first floor.

He hears whispers then, words passed around here and there but not at a loud volume, this only fuels his worry as he sees the furrow of brows from all his brothers and sisters gathered in a huddle in the living room. 

" What if Ace..." He manages to catch his boyfriend's name thrown into the conversation, peaking his curiosity and heightening his worry even further.

Well, at least nothing's going to explode.

" But what about them..." The whispers go on, the snippets of words Marco's able to catch here and there does _not_ make him feel reassured at _**all**._

" Marco! You're here! " Deuce greets, a hint of surprise in his voice as the rest scramble over the living room table in an attempt to hide _something_ from the first commander.

" The silence gave me a bad feeling, and it looks like I wasn't wrong. What are you guys hiding, yoi? " He gives his crew mates a raised brow. That look of suspicion paired with his monotonous voice makes them all have shivers run down their spine.

" Something happened overseas the day of the UA sports festival. Something that will most _defin_ _itely_ involve Ace. " Izou's the one to break the news with a heavy sigh as he hands the stack of papers they were attempting to hide over to Marco. 

Not liking the sound of _that_ at all, Marco looks down to the papers in his hands, brows furrowed in concern as he reads the words carefully, only to shoot up in shock as the words fully register in his mind.

" **HEROES AND VILLAINS ALIKE WERE ATTACKED SIMULTANEOUSLY DURING THE DAY OF THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL ATTACKERS CALL THEMSELVES THE 'REVOLUTIONARY ARMY'** " 

And on the front paper is a picture, a picture that will haunt all pirates who were brought down by the man's fist, the man who's main focus of the picture.

The man who brought terror and awe all throughout his career as a marine hero; **_Monkey D. Garp._**

The papers drop to the ground as he finishes reading the next few lines, " _**Pro-hero** **Garp the Fist will be moving back to Japan effectively immediately due to some family issues and will no longer be fighting agaisnt villains in USA.**_ "

That rice cracker demon of an old man is alive?! Even worse, he's coming to JAPAN?! 

" We're guessing it's because of Ace. " Thatch answers his unvoiced questions, and as all the papers flutter down to the ground, if they squint their eyes hard enough, one can see that right in the bottom left corner of that picture showing Monkey D. Garp, a raven haired boy is laughing happily surrounded a group of different looking people, and all of them seen to be running away from the devious old man.

_Oh_. This is way, way, _way_ worst than the mansion blowing up unexpectedly. 

\---

It's on the second day of break, the Kirishima twins aren't doing much - Ace having a narcolapsey attack, and Eijirou watching the television while their mothers are out for an errand - and the doorbell rings.

" Oh, Todoroki what are you here? Wait how do you even know where we live? " Kirishima opens the front door, first surprised by the sudden visit of their classmate and then confused on how said classmate knows where they live. 

" Ace said I was welcome here anytime I wanted to talk. " His tone of voice is the same as always, but Eijirou, as perceptive as ever, can see Todoroki's worry in the slight shift of emotions flashing through his eyes. 

" No, no, no, you didn't come here at a bad time Todoroki! Come in, Ace is going to be out for a while because of his narcolapsey so you'll have to wait for a bit, do you want anything to drink? " Eijirou gently ushers the dual coloured hair boy into the house, shuts the door behind him and brings him to the living room couch.

" Water please. " He gives a small nod of his head as he takes a sit on the couch, back straight and eyes wondering the room, looking at all the photos that covers the walls from the left to the right. 

The oldest photo is of the twins when they were three, Todoroki figures the baby photos are kept in an album somewhere. The two are smiling so brightly, not a care in the world, dressed in hiking clothes with a small mountain in the background, they were most likely going on a trip with their parents then.

The next few older pictures are mostly the same, Ace and Eijirou seem to be around four or five, in a fishing boat with two woman, the woman on the right somehow looking fierce even though she's smiling and the woman on the left is smiling gently at the camera, the two woman hug the boys seemingly in a protective embrace.

And after that, something changes in the pictures, Ace stopped wearing shirts. The past few photos all have Ace wearing something to cover his torso, and then they just....stopped. He stopped wearing them after the picture of the two women and the twins.

Eijirou's smile remain the same as the pictures increase, but Ace's seem more....older, they don't feel like the smiles Ace gives out to everyone he meets since Todoroki's met him, they seem....aged, like he's went through an experience that's aged him _years_ more.

" Here you go! " A clink of the glass cup being placed on the table brings Todoroki out of his thoughts, he nods in thanks and takes a sip of water, eyes still looking at the pictures hung across the walls.

And one particular picture catches his attention, a picture of a burning car in the background and Ace being scolded by the fierce woman while the kind one hides a laugh behind her hand as she and Eijirou from a safe distance, Ace looking as if he's laughing in the background without single sign remorse on his face.

" Ace was the second person in life I found the most manly, mama was the first. He always did what he wanted without a second thought and he neve regretted it, that picture's of the first time he set something on fire by accident. And boy was the fine hefty. "

He gives a belly deep laughter as he recalls the carefree laughter coming from Ace along with the stressed out scolding from their mama. Yuki and him sure had one heck of a blast laughing at the ridiculous situation.

They were six and a half at that time.

" FOOO—oh, hi Todoroki give me ten minutes and I'll be there—OOOD. " Ace runs into the kitchen and raids the fridge, coming back to the living room with a five meter tall tower of various sort of food.

" Ace, why are you covered in paint? " Eijirou doesn't really want to ask, but he has to for the sake of his sanity, " I finally painted a map of the grand line on my ceiling. " Not even a pause is made as the teen proceeds to shove food down his throat at a speed so fast Todoroki's eyes can barely keep up.

Food bits fly everywhere, Eijirou dodges most- if not all - with practiced ease while Todoroki- who's unskilled in the art of dodging - gets hit.

It's a straight ten minutes of food bits flying around left and right, and in those ten minutes, Todoroki has decisively taken to walking around the living room to look at the pictures mounted on the walls.

_Buuuuuuuuurp_

The sound of a full tummy comes from Ace as he pats his bloated stomach filled with food in satisfaction.

" Sorry about that, so what did you wanna talk about? " Ace asks, wiping his mouth clean with a napkin and expertly tossing it inside a trash can behind him.

" I'll head out to hang with Bakugo, you two take your time. " Sensing the atmosphere between the two, Eijirou figures he'd just be intruding if he stayed longer, so he leaves the television on, grabs his wallet and heads out the door, locking it as he leaves.

" Is it about your shitty dad? " A nod of confirmation is all Ace needs to confirm his guess, so he continues, " Good or bad this time? " 

" Good, I guess. " The slight tone of relief from Todoroki is all Ace needs to hear to know that his friend is okay. 

" What's with you and shirts? " The sudden question throws Ace in for a loop for a second, and he lets out a laugh at the random question. 

It's best to forget that at the end of the day, when Todoroki went back home and Nanako and Yuki came back, Ace got an earful from Nanako finding out he painted the map of the grand line on his ceiling before getting praised for such detailed work. 

\---

" Hi, hi mister! " A toddler in kindergarten clothes runs up to Ace and tackles his left leg into a hug, making Ace hold his sandwich between his teeth and place a hand on the toddler's back as support.

Eijirou stops in his tracks, blinking blankly at the sight. 

He takes a look at toddler hugging his leg and swallows down his sandwich whole, " Hey there little guy! " He cheerfully greets the little toddler looking up at him with a wide grin, " I watch'd your fight an' it was so cool! " The kid's eyes sparkle with awe as other toddlers slowly begin to crowd around the two.

" Can you carry me please! " A little girl asks, her arms raised in the air as she makes grabby motions at Ace, " No fair! Carry me too! " Another child says, switching on a chain of "Carry me"'s from the small group of toddlers gathered around Ace. Eijirou, who's left out if the small group is being praised by passerby's every now and then.

And when a whine starts to erupt from the group, Ace says the words that effectively shut Luffy up everytime he cried once upon a time, " I don't like cry babies or whining! " And as if there's an off switch, the whining stops instantly and all the little kids look at him with shining, puppy dog eyes. 

A growl of hunger by a kid breaks the silence.

" Who's hungry? " He asks with a smile, pushing his hat back onto his back and places his backpack down on the ground in front of him, opening it up for the toddlers to take a look inside. 

He won't share his food with adults who can take care of themselves, but he doesn't mind sharing his food with kids who dont know any better. ~~Goa noble and Celestial dragon kids suck.~~

" Me! Me! I'm hungry! " They all raise their hands, eyes glittering with pure happiness as they see Ace take out a decently sized bag of cup jellies from inside his backpack.

He laughs jovially, " Here you go you little kids! " He happily says, giving them the entire bag of jelly and ruffles their hair as they tackle him with hugs. 

" Thank you, thank you, thank you, mister! You're the bestest hero ever! " He crinkles his nose at the word 'hero', so to correct the little humans who don't know any better, he squats down to their level and explains to them, " Listen up, I don't want to be called a hero. If I'm a hero I'll have to share my treasure with other people, and I don't want that. " 

What a wonderful viewpoint of what a hero is, maybe Luffy got infected with his way of thinking while growing up with him.

The kids tilt their heads to the side in confusion, " What do you want us to call you then mister Ace? " A kid asks, hey, he knows his name too, nice. 

" Call me a pirate! " He tells them, laughing gleefully as he sees the look of realisation that crosses Eijirou's face followed by the face palm that sends some passerby's into worry. 

Was Ace and Eijirou almost late for class because the toddlers didn't want to separate from the pirate, even when their teacher said they had to go and say their good byes making Ace promise to see them again after school so he can finally get going? Yes. Yes they were.

Did they get weird looks from passerby's as the toddlers said their heartfelt and slightly tearful farewells as they separated? Oh most _definitely._

At the front of their class door, the two bump into Midoriya, " Morning Midoriya! " Eijirou greets while Ace nods his head in greeting, busy eating a chicken wing. " Morning Eijirou, Ace! How was getting to school for you two? I was recognised by some people on the bus on the way to here, it was so cool! " 

They enter the class and the rest of their classmates are curious on what the twins experience was like too, " I got some people recognising me, and Ace got a horde of toddlers running up to him asking to be carried. " 

" I don't know if I should be awed or worried that toddlers like Ace. If he's a role model for kids, then what's going to happen to the next generation of heroes? " Sero says, a mixture of emotions stirring in him as he merely thinks of tiny little kids learning from the Devil that is Ace.

" If it helps, try not to think about it to much, that's what I do. " Eijirou laughs in defeat, patting Sero on the shoulder as he takes his seat.

When Aizawa walks in looking like his usual sleep deprived self instead of a mummy, the class quietens down and waits for what he'll say.

" Today's homeroom is going to be on hero informatics, " A tense look brushes over everyone's faces while Ace leans back into his chair and bites on an apple, " so you'll be choosing your code names. " 

Without warning, the class erupts into shouts of hoorah, excited and happy to be finally doing something slightly more normal now. 

" You'll be picking your code names now mostly because of your Pro-hero draft picks. Keep in mind that your offers can be taken back anytime between now and when you graduate. " He reminds everyone, making the excitement go down a notch.

He taps on the board and a list of tables comes out, " These are the amount of heroes wanting to recruit you, it's normally more even out but Todoroki and Bakugo have more nominations than expected. " 

" Wait, what about Ace? " Asui asks, bringing everyone's attention to Ace's name.....who's at the bottom of the list with only three nominations? 

" Huh? That doesn't make sense, Ace got first but he's got the lowest nominations, Todoroki and Bakugo got second and third but their number of nominations are switched around. " Ojiro points out, " It's the way he fought. " Eijirou, surprisingly enough, is the one to point it out. 

Ace doesn't even care, he's in his own world munching on some fries and sketching out something on a sketchpad. 

" What do you mean? " Kaminari asks, Aizawa's letting them do their own thing so he walks over to Ace and nabs a fry for himself, Ace doesn't bother fighting back, he's at a crucial part in his sketch.

He can hear the call of a whale coming from his homeroom teacher's stomach, but it doesnt phase him.

" We've all seen how he is when he's fighting, he's more carefree and dangerous when having fun. And with his record with the fire department and police on how many things he's accidentally set on fire in the past, it's really no surprise they don't want to recruit him. " 

They all take a moment to process and then nod in agreement once they find that Eijirou is right, even if Ace has sick killer fighting skills and a awesome quirk, it doesn't change the fact that he's practically the Devil's reincarnation. 

" Stop stealing my fries! " Ace finally swats the man's hands away and tosses him a sandwich instead, going back to his sketch " Can't stand the sound of hunger coming from you. " He grumbles as he continues munching on his fries, completely oblivious to the looks aimed at him.


	20. A mix of emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leads to panic in class

Aizawa trudges back to the front of the class, newly acquired sandwich in hand, and explains to the class, " You'll be spending a week interning with Pro-heroes, so you'll have to choose your hero names wisely, they can be stuck with you for the rest of your career. "   
  
  
  
Just then, the front door opens abruptly and Midnight comes in, " Which is why I'll be giving the final approval of your names! " She gives a snicker to Aizawa, apparently in the know of something not that wellknown to outsiders while the sleeo deprived man munches on his sandwich. 

  
  
She hands out a bunch of whiteboards and markers for each student to have and tells them to write their name on the board.

With Midnight doing what she needs to do, Aizawa shoves the rest of his sandwich in his mouth, worms his way into his yellow sleeping bag, and takes early morning nap with the words, " Don't bother me until you guys are done. " Left to the kids.  
  
  
  
While everyone else writes down their names, Ace finishes his fries, and suddenly feeling in the mood for a refreshing snack, pulls out a watermelon slice from his backpack and takes a bite out of it, making a crisp biting sound echo throughout the silent class.   
  


The sound making the more timid classmates jump in their seats in fright at the sound, and the more chill ones turn to look at him In question.

Ignoring the looks, Ace looks at the blank whiteboard staring at him. It's not like he wants to be a hero, he's a pirate through and through. Heroes don't know of the happiness that comes from being a pirate, being free to do as you want, to live without the constant fear of a uptight- stick shoved so high up their ass they can't see it -spoiled ass, ugly looking brats killing them simply for blocking their way.

He seriously hopes those spoiled ass brats of Celestial Dragons got what's been coming to them for a _long time._ It's too bad he doesn't know if the revolutionary army succeeded in their mission or not. Speaking of which, he should ask Marco if he knows anything when he gets the chance.

His thoughts come to a screeching halt when he realises something, he hasn't seen Marco _at all_ today, not on the way to school or on his way to class, and he's not seen Izou, Thatch, or Haruta either. ' _Weird, did something happen and I wasn't aware of it?_ ' He shakes his head and crosses out the thought. 

Perhaps he four of them had something serious they had to see to last minute and didn't have enough time to tell him. 

' _But what could it possibly be?_ ' He narrows his eyes glaring at nothing in particular, not liking where his train of thought is going at all. " Ace? " A call from Eijirou brings his mind back to the present, looking up at Eijirou, he blinks his eyes at his twin in slight confusion.

" You okay? You've been glaring at the whiteboard like it's somehow wronged you for the past fifteen minutes. " He blinks once, his brain finally able to realise that yes, he has indeed been glaring at the whiteboard while he was stuck in thought. 

Oops.

" It's nothing serious, so what are we doing now? " He waves the hand holding the half eaten watermelon slice in dismissal, leaning back into his chair to get comfortable. 

Trusting Ace on his words, Eijirou happily fills his brother in on what's happening, " We're showing our hero names, Bakugo and I've already gone up and shown ours, so you're up next! " 

Perfect timing too, the rest of the class - including Midnight and Aizawa - have their eyes on him, both groups curious on what his choice of name will be.

He pushes his hat to rest against his back once more, throwing the watermelon peel in the dustbin outside his window sit, " Okay then, " If he's going to be forced into this 'hero business', he's going to be bringing along the name that's been with him since he got the Mera Mera no mi, " Fire fist Ace. " 

His handwriting is as atrocious as can be on the board, but considering the fact he just scribbled it willy nilly as he was walking up to the front under the curious eyes of those around him, he'll say it's pretty a good job.

" It's simple and straight to the point, I like it! but are you sure you want to include your name? A lot of heroes don't typically have their names included. " Midnight asks, earning a nod from Ace, " I want the mere mention of my name to strike terror into all my enemies. " 

Because if he's going to stay in this school and learn how to be a _hero_ , he'll make his enemies suffer ten times more than what he's suffered, he'll live as he likes to and they can't stop him. Midnight should be glad he didn't add 'pirate' to the name.

He heads back to his seat just as Bakugo heads back up and presents his new bero name choice, " Lord explosion murder! " He aggressively presents his board, his 'fight me!' face looking a _little more_ feral than usual.

" Denied! " Midnight decisively objects, earning laughter from the class as they jokingly suggest other names for Bakugo to use. 

" We'll stop here for the day. Those who've recieved nominations are to choose which one they want to go to. "

" I suggest going for those who best suit your aspirations. " Midnight interjects, " Those who didn't get any nominations are to choose from a different list of forty agencies we'll be giving you. " 

The lists are given to the students, Todoroki and Bakugo getting more than one page of nominations while Ace does get one page with only a twelth of it filled.

Ace notices Todoroki blankly staring at a specific hero agency on his nominations list making Ace lean over and see what it is, " He's persistent I'll give him that. " The comment manages to make Todoroki ease up and a tiny smile can be seen on his face as he nods in agreement with Ace.

Happy to see Todoroki back to his usual self, Ace brings his attention back to his list, and those few names he sees on the paper makes him lose control of his power and set it on fire. 

Amidst the panicked screaming happening around him (Aizawa trying to calm a few freaked out students while Midnight runs out to grab a fire extinguisher in the hallway), all Ace can focus on is those few names printed in black on that now charred paper.

His hands are still in their fire form as he looks unmovingly at the empty space where the piece of paper used to be.

The fire extinguisher Midnight brings in is useless against Ace as he continues to burn brightly, Aizawa tries to use his quirk on Ace but finds it to have no effect on the teen. It raises questions in his mind but now is not the time for that.

Todoroki and Eijirou are unsure of what to do seeing him in such a state, feeling as helpless as they are in such a situation, all they can do is make sure Ace doesn't somehow injure himself.

Ace takes a shaky breath in and out, only managing to squeeze a few words out of himself, in a voice level so soft Eijiroua and Todoroki have to strain their ears just to catch them, " _They're_ _here?_ " 

It's a very messy and fire filled morning before lunch finally rolls around, and no one is happier for the signal of the lunch bell than the students of class 1A.

Why? Mostly because Ace couldn't get his emotions under control and was half-fire half-human the entire morning. His flames were burning bright and hot enough that some of his classmates had to move away from him to protect themselves.

Heck, Dark shadow didn't even leave the shadows like it usually does. It's a good thing Eijirou's quirk allows him to handle the burning heat, but he had to use his sunglasses just so he wouldn't go blind.

He also had to take Ace's backpack away from him or he'd burn it to a crisp, his hat is fire proof so it's fine, but his uniform's already a lost cause.

Todoroki, the saviour of the class, surrounded Ace with his ice quirk in an attempt to cool him down the entire morning. And if it wasn't for him, the entire class would have caught on fire and burned to the ground in a matter of minutes.

Bakugo resulted to taking off his uniform jacket and top due to the sweltering heat, Iida was in a dilemma of should he do something to stop Ace from burning down the building and get burned in the process or try his best to live through this heat to see another day. It's safe to say that he went with the second option.

In short, besides Eijirou and Todoroki being the only ones who could stand the heat and brightness ~~thank you sunglasses~~ coming from Ace in his state, there was a ten meter radius between his classmates and him.

Papers lit on fire more than once. 

_splash!_

Yes, Ace was so out of it that his classmates had to resort to splashing a bucket of cold water to bring Ace back to the present and not accidentally become an arsonist by burning the school down.

" Sorry about that. " He bows and apologises to them, but he's still out of sorts. His eyes not really focusing on anything as he walks off with Eijirou and Todoroki to the cafeteria.

His twin carrying his _way too heavy_ backpack in his stead for he's afraid Ace will just randomly set himself on fire again and then it's "bye bye backpack!"

If it's happened once, it'll happen again.

" You think what happened this morning is because of what he saw in his nomination list? " Uraraka asks, Midoriya, Kaminari, Sero, Tokoyami, and Iida have their heads peaking out from behind the classroom's front entrance, watching the back of the three teens - Ace's in particular - head for the cafeteria.

Bakugo clicks his tongue in the background, knocking his chair back into place in the process. He knows Ace is Eijirou's brother and all, but damnit he brings more trouble wherever he goes than actual villains do!

In the cafeteria, Pro-hero Lunch rush was confused on why his favourite customer and student, Ace, was really out of it when ordering his food for the day. So, as an attempt to get the teen to cheer up, he gave Ace four to five extra plates of meat, and it did manage to cheer up Ace as he gave a smaller than usual smile to the hero in thanks.

They sit at Ace's usual table, the eldest and youngest teens eating their food in peace as they watch Ace eat with the same amount of vigor as usual, but it's obvious his mind isn't really present. 

" Do you want to talk about it? " Todoroki's the one to break the silence, unable to see Ace in such a state, it's not like him at all.

" ... " It's an internal struggle within Ace, does he tell Eijirou and Todoroki what made him burst into flames, or does he keep quiet about it and deal with it by himself? 

' _Brothers don't keep secrets from each other! '_ Damn Luffy and his ever loving, stubborn, hellish presence that will never let him live to see the light of day if he ever keeps a secret from him.

With a defeated sigh (defeated at the fact he can never beat Luffy in stubbornness, even if he's not next to him) he starts, " So the heroes in that list is full of people I know from my.... _older days_. "

He makes his words as vague as he can, talking about his problems in a cafeteria full of potentially eavesdropping people with nothing better to do is a bad idea, but he can't really care any less than he already does. 

\---

Ignoring the fact that Todoroki and Eijirou are a _tad bit_ worried for Ace and what he'll decide to do, the rest of the school day is as normal as can be.

If one counts the charred floor under Ace's seat, charred desk, charred ceiling above it, as well as some melted things here and there being a normal everyday occurrence, then yes, everything is as normal as can be.

The first day of the week has already come to a close, and Ace has no choice but to choose one _hero_ to intern under by the end of the week.

This is going to be a _long_ week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've three different beginnings of the chapter that I wrote for the fun of it because why not. 
> 
> And believe or not, I couldn't decide which version to choose from so I just gave up and wrote another version that I felt fit Ace the most, if it doesn't fit then —oh well! 
> 
> At least I tried 😌
> 
> I also have the urge to throw my phone at something, so posting this is better than that. 
> 
> "If it happened once, it'll happen again." If that ain't the story of my life-


	21. A Heart Warming Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could you sense the sarcasm in that

It's two days into the week when things start taking a turn for the...weird. 

  
  
Just to make things clear, those first two days weren't all that normal either. After Ace had found out that Garp, ~~the old man who he kind of - sort of - sees as a grandfather - but will never ever admit it aloud even if some bastard tortures him to admit it~~ \- was alive and well, he's been having _some_ trouble with school.

  
  
To be more exact, he's been having trouble not lighting anything on fire that looks _remotely close_ to the old man. To this day, he still dreads that damn fist of love.  


  
" Damnit Ace! This is the fifth time you've lit a tree on fire! Can you just chill? There's a limit to what Todoroki can prevent burning down with his quirk! " Eijirou _caringly_ asks, struggling to carry Ace's backpack as said boy has his back on fire whilst Todoroki's encasing the burning tree in ice to prevent the flames from spreading.  


  
" Sorry, I thought the tree was the old man. " He admits a bit embarrassed with his actions, " I thought you could sense anything with your Haki? " His twin asks in a low voice, weary of those curious ones eavesdropping.  


Not like they'd come near a potentially life threatening flaming Ace, but hey, better safe than sorry.

  
Todoroki joins back with them quietly, listening to the two as he covers Ace's back with his ice, mostly to cover the scar now showing due to his uniform being burnt _again_ , and partly because the freckled teens back is still a raging mess of fire.   
  
  
Ace shakes his head, " He can hide his presence whenever he wants to and I can't sense him when he does that, so it's best to just be safe and sorry than suffer later. " He shivers at the thought of the old man's fist of love, he's already had two lifetimes worth of being under the care of that old man, he doesn't want to see him _again_ anytime soon.  


  
" It's been two days since you saw his name on that list of nominations, isn't there other heroes in the list as well? You could just pick one of them instead. " Todoroki suggests, earning a scrunched face from Ace and a slightly surprsed look from Eijirou since this is the most he's heard the teen talk.  


  
Granted Ace is the one Todoroki confides his feelings and problems with the most while Eijirou's mostly doing something else somewhere with Bakugo and Kaminari not wanting to disturb the two.  


  
" Those are even _worse_ options, I'd rather get hunted down by a fleet of marines for a week than intern under _them_. " Ace's answer is resolute, his face is obvious in showing his disdain at the mere thought of the names.  


  
Todoroki doesn't even look phased by what Ace just said, only a small nod of his head in understanding of Ace and his thoughts.  


  
" Shitty hair! The hell is keeping you? " Bakugo calls from the front of the classroom, obviously impatient with waiting for the red head when school is about to start.  


  
" Give me a second, Bakugo! I'm trying to deal with something here! " Eijirou answers back to his friend, his face screaming a questioning look to the angry pomeranian who in turn, ignores it.  


  
" Okay, Ace, our classes have absolutely nothing _close_ to resembling him, so you have _nothing_ to worry about! " Eijirou has a feeling that he shouldn't be saying these words, but _eh_ , it's too late now, he'll leave future problems for future Eijirou to deal with.  


  
He'll _no doubt_ kick himself in the ass for saying that sooner or later.  


  
Todoroki nods in silent agreement standing next to Ace, encouraging the freckled teen to relax and breathe.  


  
He really doesn't want to have to put out fire in the classroom again, once is more than enough for a one in a lifetime experience _thank you very much_.   
And when Ace somehow manages to finally keep his fire in check - and doesn't combust again in the next five seconds, Eijirou deems him safe enough to return the backpack to it's rightful owner.   


It's a good thing to, the red head swears his back would've broke in half if he had to carry that bag for a minute longer.

  
It's already too late for the uniform, but it's a-okay! Why? Because they have excuse sheets written by their mothers for this exact situation, well not this _exact situation_ , but it's an excuse sheet for when his uniform burns to ashes and he shows up to school half naked, so it's good enough!  


  
The three ~~_finally_~~ enter the classroom, Eijirou talking with Bakugo about something Ace doesn't really get before Kaminari and Sero joins in and the four head to their usual spot in class. Ace and Todoroki greet those who greet them and head to their desks like usual.  


  
When the last of the students enter the class, Aizawa enters and it's the beginning of homeroom.  


Homeroom is like any other homeroom, Aizawa talks to the class about something related to their studies and they listen attentively for the whole duration of it.

  
" Wait up you brats. " The call from Aizawa makes the students stay in their seats, they'd rather be late for science than face the wrath of Eraserhead.  


  
" There's a special guest visiting the school for something later on, so go to the training field after school. " Its the words paired with the impeccable timing of thunder rumbling in the background followed by rain droplets that makes Ace dread the upcoming day.   


  
So as a way to comfort himself, he stuffs his face non-stop with all the food in his backpack the entirety of science whilst his flames come and go at any given time. He could care less about the pointed stares from their teacher, unless the guy's having a crises at hand that's worse than what Ace is currently having, he can't stop him.  


  
The only breaks the class gets, are the random attacks of narcolapsey that hits Ace every now and then. They have never been more happy with peace and quiet in the entirety of their lives.  


  
" Just wait till I get my hands on Marco and the rest, they'll _regret_ not letting me know _shit_ about this whole thing. " The grumbling and cursing only starts once English, the last lesson for the day, rolls around.   


  
By then the whole school has experienced a shortage of food for Ace had eaten out the cafeteria _completely_ and left everyone to fight for scraps for themselves.   


  
Students were complaining, angry, hungry, and pissed at the culprit, eyes shining ominously as they looked between Ace and the mountain of food in front of him. Never has there been a moment in history where a situation arose and was bad enough to the point students had unified as one.   


  
Food really does wonders.   


  
Eijirou was wise enough to snatch a sandwich for himself before lunch and was content with his spot on the roof during lunch.   


  
Surprisingly enough, Present mic was the only teacher - and pro hero - able to bring Ace back to his peppy mood during English. Maybe it's how the two get along with each other, or maybe it's because Ace is Hizashi's favourite student and Hizashi Ace's favourite teacher.

  
Eijirou calls _Bullshit_.  


  
" He's really asking for a beating, isn't he? " Asui asks Eijirou as the rest of class 1A watch Ace grumble unrecognisable curses non-stop on his way to the training field, Todoroki walking next to the raven as he's the only one other than Eijirou, Ace's subconscious ensures he doesn't accidentally burn with his flames.

  
No one really wanting to go near and risk miraculously agitating the raven even _further_ one way or another.  


  
They've seen him fight happy, they do not want to see him fight agitated - or worse, _pissed_.

  
" He's just got a lot on his mind lately. " A nervous laughter escapes Eijirou, knowing one of the reasons why Ace is being extra _...fiery_.  


  
" Does it have something to do with Edward Marco from 2A and Edward Haruta from class B he always hangs out with? " Yaoyozoru asks, making Eijirou stiffen slightly at the sheer _accuracy_ of her guess.  


  
" Something like that. From what I know, it's a really manly matter that Ace doesn't like all that much. " _Okay_ , he knows he's stretching it a _little much_ with the white lie, but he can't exactly say Ace figured out the reason the Whitebeard commanders have been a no show for a while now.  


  
They're most probably dealing with Garp or something along that line, and they most likely didn't want to include Ace since they're worried for him and his wellbeing considering the fact that he doesn't have that good of a control over his Haki as of yet, and it's _Garp_ they're talking about.

  
The old man who's capable of throwing _cannon balls_ like their _soft balls_ without even breaking so much as a _sweat_.

  
Better to face the wrath of Ace's flames than the weirdness that will definitely come from the two facing each other.  


  
" We've got to get going or we'll be late! " He changes the topic, uncomfortable with the eyes burrowing into him, wanting to ask more questions.  
  
  
He runs off to Ace and Todoroki, Bakugo hanging back with the class as his eyes narrow in thought, " Shitty hair is hiding something again. " He notes with a grumble, but voice level low enough so as to not be heard by the rest.  


  
They head to the training field once the three are out of sight and there's no visible sign of danger within ten meters.  


  
" Uh, what are you guys doing here? " At this very moment, in the field where the first year students are gathered after a hard day of school and said school surviving being burned to the ground by a certain freckled someone, class A is safely standing beside class B, where there is a _possibly_ safe amount of distance between them, and Kirishima Ace.   


Flame boy extraordinaire, and resident reincarnated satan of UA.

  
The very one who looks like a _literal_ **_flaming ball of fire_**.

  
  
" Is he okay? " Kendo Tsuka asks, she's a little worried for Ace and sweating sweating buckets from the temperature. 

  
  
" _That's_ what you're worried about? Not the fact that we could be cooked alive but whether he's _okay_? " Tetsutetsu asks, getting a death smile from Kendo.

  
  
" He's all right, I think. " Kaminari answers, a little unsure when Ace's flames intensifies two folds once the school staff enters the field.

  
  
" All right now, before we get this thing rolling - Ace! Could ya turn down the fire? " Hizashi asks arm covering his eyes. Even with his sunglasses, the flames are too bright.

" Right, my bad. " Ace says, putting away his fire and turning back to full human body. Not a hint of shame on his face as he munches on a watermelon slice.

Again, Eijirou calls _Bullshit_.

With the teachers briefing the students about somethings before getting to the point of why they're here, " Eijirou! Long time no see! " Haruta greets the twin, coming from nowhere and giving his back a pat in greeting.

" You should be saying that to Ace. He was _this close_ to making the school no longer here. " He brings his thumb and index finger together, leaving a millimetre of a gap between them and showing it to Haruta.

" Oh we're dead. " Haruta summarises the Whitebeard pirated fate in those three words, looking between a done with life Eijirou and plotting murder Ace.

The younger twin lets out a sigh, hand on Haruta's shoulder as he speaks, " You should've told him about Garp instead of keeping him in the dark, he's been really mad about it. " 

The swordsman's face light up in horror at the revelation, " He got an offer to intern from him two days ago. " Eijirou answers the unvoiced question.

" Now, the moment you've been waiting for, students, meet pro hero - " A figure crashes to the ground from the sky, kicking up sand from the impact, temporarily blinding their sights of who it is.

A crunch sound comes from the figure, the puff of sand clearing up and showing who's the pro hero, Eijirou and Haruta turn their heads to Ace who looks non too pleased then to the figure, able to recognize who it is now.

Haruta not liking who it is and Eijirou _really_ wants to kick himself right now.

The old man laughs as he takes a bite out of his rice cracker, walking up to Ace, easily towering over the teen as the two are in a stare off.

Then out of nowhere, for no reason, the man's fist comes down on Ace. A resounding _thud_ echoes the field followed by, " YOU BRAT! " 

" _OW!_ " Ace covers his bruising head, a single tear of pain in his eye as he looks back up at the old man, ~~_smiling_~~ sneering and glaring through the pain as he shouts, " _WHAT WAS THAT FOR YOU_ _SHITTY GRAMPS!_ " 

_" Monkey D. Garp! "_


	22. The wonderful thing about friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is that whatever shit you go through, you can drag your friend along with you for shit and giggles.

With that _wonderful_ entrance and heartfelt greeting by Garp, the students can safely conclude that Ace and the pro hero know each other.   


And pretty well too, if the old man's grin and Ace looking comfortable standing with the old man despite his words of choice has anything to say about it.  


" How does Ace know pro hero Monkey D. Garp? He's the most well respected hero to ever live aside from All Might! " Midoriya asks in a excited whisper, looking to Ejijirou for an answer. His eyes bulging and knees shaking as he points a shaky hand to the two who are ~~shouting~~ talking about something.   


Both D's too occupied at the current moment to realise that an audience is watching their strange, yet entertaining interaction.  


The talking is quick to devolve into a one sided brawl, Garp aiming a fist at Ace any chance he gets and Ace, for the most part, dodging as many strikes as he can.   


Though that fails and he resorts to using his flames and sends a flaming kick right at Garp who dodges it with _ease._  


" It's a long and _weird_ story. Trust me when I say you _don't_ wanna know. " Eijirou says, watching as Ace dodges a fist aimed at his head and ~~smiles~~ _sneers_ at the old man, aggressively taking a bite out of a melon slice.  


The teachers and principal perspire with awkwardness equivalent to a thousand suns as they watch the two in a full out _fight_ with each other.

The fights already gotten to the point where the surrounding is getting _destroyed_ by the blows and punches.  


" Bah! Greet me you brat! Stop eating your damn food! Where are your manners for your elder? " Garp scolds, going for another swipe at Ace and successfully hits Ace on the head, _this time_.  


" You hit me on the head and you want me to greet you? Are you really shitty Gramps, or has the years gone to your head? " Ace accuses, nursing his new bruise while his eyes narrow in suspicion, the veins bulge on Garp's forehead.  


" You damn brat! " He bursts as Ace unwittingly lets out a snicker at the show of growing anger. He grabs the shorter teen by the arm, and _throws_ him into the air like he's a soft ball.  


While Ace is in the air, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he's hundreds of meters away from the ground, chomping on a burger in a I-couldn't-be-bothered-to-give-two-shits-about-this manner, Garp looks back to the students and teachers by the sideline. His focus now on the teen audience who's been watching the two with wide open gaped mouths.

For the record, there's isnt much of a field left anymore. Scorch marks here and there along with a few decently sized holes in the ground appearing from their impromptu fight.  


It's a few awkward and silent seconds as Garp blankly stares at the students, digging his nose with one hand, and eating his rice crackers with the other, and the students also staring back, too _deep_ in their confusion trying to figure out what the _he_ _ck_ just happened.  


" Yo. " He greets, pausing his eating and putting the hand up into the air eith his other hand still digging his nose when Ace finally lands back on the ground, feet first too.  


The old man spots Haruta, but doesn't really say or do anything knowing that neither the pirate or him want to cause any unnecessary trouble.  


Garp gets his pinky out of his nose and flicks the booger somewhere, carried away by a small gust of wind.  


_Ahem_  


An awkward cough from Midnight brings the attention back to the teachers. Garp turning his head to look at them as he stops digging his nose and continues to eat his rice crackers.  


Ace walks to Eijirou while Garp's concentration is elsewhere even as the teachers talk, seemingly fine even after being _thrown into the air_ like he didn't even weigh a damn _thing._  


" We're going to have a _nice long talk_ about leaving me out of the loop once this is all over. " He hisses to Haruta, biting menacingly on his burger as the swordsman figures he'll just ditch Marco and the rest to the ire of Ace.   


As the saying on the Moby Dick goes, It's every pirate for themselves when it comes to Ace's anger.   


Principal Nezu steps up and begins to address the children, acting like what just happened moment ago, _did not_ just happen.  


" So students, Garp is here today to..." The world fades in the corners of Ace's eyes, so he figures his narcolapsey is kicking in and he shoves the rest of his burger in his mouth, gulps it down and just in time too cause he immediately knocks out like a light switch.  


He collapses against Eijirou's back and gently snores away. Haruta taking charge of holding his backpack for him which he regrets _immediately_ once the cursed thing is in hand, and Eijirou's making sure his twin's face doesn't meet the ground.  


\----  


With every _second_ that passes, Eijirou and Haruta shuffle Ace's unconscious body along the exit just a _little bit._ Not enough to be noticed, but enough so that by the time the end of the 'meeting' has arrived, they're _literally_ the first three out the door.

  
As in they were one step away from the exit while the others were a good hundred meters away, it's a miracle that the teachers didn't stop them really. And Eijirou's _sure_ that Aizawa noticed them but didn't give two shits about it. Probably thinking along the line of, ' _I'm not paid enough for this shit_.'

  
Garp just looks at them leave the area as he eats his rice crackers, either unbothered with chasing them or his rice crackers are more interesting than them. Eijirou's more than happy to choose the second option, really.  


  
Slowly, a few students begin to leave the training field, either their schedules are too busy to stay and admire Garp or their course having absolutely _nothing_ to do with being a hero, therefore making them lose interest in staying behind.  


  
" Um, excuse me, Mr. Garp? " A timid voice calls for the old man's attention, making him turn around and look down (literally) at the small green headed freckled boy, a notebook in hand and shaking like a leaf with nervousness.

  
" Yah? What can I do for you? " He asks, taking a large bite if his rice cracker, large enough that he could've just swallowed it whole.

  
" Uh-uh-could you sign my hero notebook? " Midoriya presents his notebook as he bows to Garp, head towards the floor and eyes squeezed shut as if he's afraid he'll get rejected.

  
Garp lets out a laugh, rice cracker unmoving from it's place in his mouth as he takes the notebook and signs it, " Here you go! " Midoriya stays unmoving as he straightens back up and his eyes go starry as he looks at Garp with awe.

  
He gives Midoriya back his notebook and that's when a shout of anger roars throughout the field, " _**GAAAAAARP!**_ " The sheer anger sends shivers down spines to those who are still around to hear it.

  
" Ah. He caught me. " Garp says, his stays the same, munching on his rice crackers as pounding steps echo throughout the field.

  
" _**You were explicitly told**_ _ **not**_ _ **to disturb he school and you still did it anyways! Why are all you Monkey's so god damn stubborn!**_ " A man with afro hair and braided beard, stomps his way over to Garp, his clenched fists a sign of obvious anger.

  
Like the good hearted man he is, Garp _laughs_ , " It runs in the blood Sengoku! Bwahahaha! " The old man laughs while the students pale at the sight of a _glowing_ Sengoku.  


Then Sengoku trembles in rage as he takes Garp by the scruff of his shirt and shakes him back and forth repeatedly, " **_WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE LIKE_** ** _THIS. "_** He expresses his concern very clearly and

_very_ loudly.  


_Snooooooore_  


And Garp's fallen asleep despite being shaken like a rag doll and Sengoku's irritation increases - _at least_ \- three folds, he plants a leg into the ground, cranks his arms and _throws_ Garp into the sky with all his might.

One would think retiring as a marine before coming to this world might give the guy less stress. On the bright side, it seems his concern for public opinion appears to have been thrown out the window.

So that's good.

Maybe.

_Possibly._

Who's kidding, concern for public opinion isn't exactly in mind when dealing with the craziness of the those bearing the D.

Nothing remotely sane ever is.

" It was great meeting you all. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave. " And like how he came, Sengoku leaves the training field in a gust of wind.

A cold chilly air passes by, sending a chill through those present to witness what the _heck_ just happened.

" You know what. I _definitely_ believe that Ace and pro hero Garp know each other. Those two are _way too_ alike that it scares me. " Kaminari states, earning dumbfounded nods from the rest as they stare at the empty field where Garp was just standing.

\---

" You think we're far enough? " Eijirou asks once they've reach a decently filled park, civilians and the like taking a stroll or having a picnic as they enjoy the evening sun.

The two place a still sleeping Ace on a bench, the freckled teen snoring without a care in the world as the two plop down and take a seat beside either side of him. 

" This is _Garp_ we're talking about. It's lucky enough we weren't chased the second we left the school. " Haruta says, head tilted back to look at the sky, absentmindedly fiddling with his sword handle while Eijirou watches the park in silence.

It's a short but serene two minutes of silence before Ace jerks back awake and looks around him with blurry eyes.

" I will never get how you survived him as a kid. " Eijirou says, watching Ace take out a fried fish and starts eating it without a second thought.

Ace lets out a laugh as the words sink in, " You should ask Luffy that. " He says, earning a snort from Haruta who's no doubt remembering all the _dumb shit_ Luffy got himself into on his many, many adventures. 

_Crunch_

" Great, let's go talk to him then. " Garp says from behind the bench, making the three teens blanch and whip their heads around to meet Garp face to face.

Eijirou stumbles his way from the bench in shock, his eyes darting between his twin and Garp.

Haruta and Ace jumps from their seats, the swordsman ready to draw out his sword if necessary, and the fire user's fist is clenched, ready for a potential brawl.

Ace's brow quirks up, challengingly at first, but then when his brain fully processes what Garp just said, it's like a pause switch was flipped inside him.

" Luffy? He's here? " He repeats, mind replaying the words over and over in a loop as his fists shake, either from excitement or from gripping too hard.

Garp stops eating his rice crackers, " He's here, and he'll start going on a rampage soon if you don't assure him that you're _alive._ " The last word is spoken heavily, and Ace doesn't want to ponder on why it is.

Not right now anyway, not when Ace just found out that _Luffy_ , his _baby brother,_ is _here._

He wants to go and see Luffy with his own eyes. To ensure his ears aren't deceiving him, but then he pauses in his spiralling thoughts and looks to Eijirou.

They don't say anything, but Eijirou can see it in Ace's eyes what he wants to go _so badly_. And he can't blame him, not when he's heard what Ace has been through. How Luffy's always been there for him ever since the two met, even with their rocky start. How he's always chasing him - following him, giving him _hope_ and _trust_ unconditionally. How unwavering for his dream he is despite it sounding like an impossible feat.

And Eijirou would really be lying if he said he didn't want to meet Luffy too. Who wouldn't really, with all the stories of the straw hatted boy and his crew and their ridiculous adventures, how straightforward he is always is and how _ridiculously lucky_ he is. Really, because based on what he's beard from Marco and the rest, it's beyond ridiculous how high Luffy's luck is.

Eijirou gives a small - barely noticeable - nod of his head, and Ace lets out a breath he's been holding, because _finally_ , he can see Luffy, he can see his little baby brother who he's missed, and he can _finally_ have his younger twin meet his baby brother. 

And he can't help the small smile grow on his face at the thought of it.

Garp lets out a hearty laugh when he sees how bright Ace's eyes light up at the mere thought of Luffy. Some things really never change, huh?

" **_GAAAAAARP!!!_** " Sengoku's shout travels across the park, birds fly off and away from their trees in fright and citizens freeze in place and _slowly, ever so slowly_ , turn their heads to the source to which it came from.

Garp takes a look at his watch and his eyes light up with mischief, " Oh, he's faster this time! " 

Haruta, Ace, and Eijirou turn their heads to the small pond located on their right. And at the right moment too. Why? Simple, because Sengoku's having the _time of his life_ steaming from his ears as his eyes lock onto Garp with a death glare.

And the old man has the nerve to pull on a shit eating grin on his face and turns to Sengoku, holding out his bag of rice crackers and asks, " Want a rice cracker? " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:D


	23. Taking things slow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cause Ace figures why the heck not

Sweeping aside the fact that Sengoku was puffing out steam from his ears due to Garp being a pain in the butt for him, Sengoku doesn't really seem to care all that much that Ace is alive.

  
  
When Eijirou asks why, he answers with, " He's training to be a hero isnt he? Plus, that would be too much paperwork. " Garp just laughs as if he knows the real reason why Sengoku isnt going all glory on them but doesn't care enough to say it.  


  
Eh, okay then, less work for Ace too. 

Sengoku leaves Garp and the rest to do some hero things Ace has no clue what they are.  


  
But that's not important right now, though it should be - but not really - Ace is more focused on the fact that he's going to _finally_ see Luffy. 

  
  
Garp can see his anticipation grow stronger by the second so, without wasting a second, he leads them to the busy streets of a shopping district. 

  
  
Which in hindsight, isn't such a good place to leave Luffy in. Why? Oh that's simple really, because it's _Luffy_. 

Luffy, the brat who can't go a single day without causing some mayhem or mischief to ease his boredom. Luffy, the brat who's given Marines headaches to last _Lifetimes._

  
  
" What in the- " Eijirou cuts himself off as they enter the shopping the district, or what used to be the shopping district. The place looks like it got hit by a tornado really. Shops abandoned and goods laying around _everywhere_ , streets once filled to the brim with people; now barren and desolate, minus the clanking of swords going on up ahead that is.

  
  
" _MOSS HEAD_. " An insult is hollered out as a burst of steam blows the four in the face, " _SHITTY BROW. "_ Another insult is thrown, no doubt said by the 'moss head' as a whirlwind tornado follows suit.

  
  
" Damn brats, can't stay still for more than an hour. " Garp grumbles, but it's not like he can talk really. No _seriously_ he's the one who procreated _Again._ If that doesn't scream 'can't do nothing for shit' than nothing else can.

  
  
" _You idiots! The thief is running away! "_ A woman's voice scolds, followed by a lighthearted laugh Ace knows _all too well_.

  
  
" _It's fine Nami! "_ The reassurance doesn't seem to reassure Nami as later, a body is sent flying right into a deserted shop, dust and things flying everywhere from the impact and a grunt is heard from the - surprisingly still alive - body.

  
  
Eijirou's confused so he looks to Haruta for some sort of answer, the Whitebeard pirate has a look on his face that just _Screams_ ' _Ah, today must be a Tuesday.'_ And Eijirou can't help himself but worry about Haruta's mental wellbeing.

  
  
" _**I hate it when he does that.**_ " The larger chunks of debris lying on top is thrown aside followed by the cracking of bones, " YOU THREW ME IN THE WRONG DIRECTION! " 

  
  
The dust clears and Ace's eyes light up at the sight of the head of green, " _Sorry about that_ _!_ " The thrower apologises, but the laughter that comes after says otherwise.

  
  
Though their meeting was short, Ace remembers the moss head's name easily, " Zoro! " He greets the swordsman happily.

  
  
The swordsman pauses in his movements, head slowly turning to look behind him and makes eye contact with Ace. For a moment it doesn't register who he is, but then Eijirou can see the metaphorical lightbulb light up, and the large grin that graces the man's face as he greets back.

  
  
" Ace! " The two go in for a hug, happy to see each other even with the large time gap.

  
  
The two break apart quickly, Ace asking the question that's been bugging his mind for the longest time, " So, how's my baby brother been? "   


  
" _I got him!_ " A slightly younger voice exclaims, followed by a celebration from the thrower and a, " _Give me back my meat, you thief!_ " 

  
  
" _Forget the meat! He took our treasure! "_ The woman scolds as a _bonk_ sound follows soon after, " He threw me for _meat. "_ Zoro's eyes narrow af the direction of the laughing voice and Ace lets out a laugh of his own, " Isn't he the best? " The teasing is evident in his voice along with the mischievous glint in his eyes.

  
  
One which Zoro returns with his own, " But really though, thanks for taking care of him all this while. " It feels like deja vu as Ace bows to Zoro in thanks and the swordsman waves it off with a, " It's no problem. " 

  
  
Amidst the screaming, laughing, and shouting going on in the background that's gradually getting closer, Zoro and Ace converse with each other like two old men with nothing better to do.

Eijirou zones out of their conversation after a while, the scene happening behind them seeming more interesting to him, " Geh! Garp is back! " A long nosed, curly haired teen exclaims, frozen in place as he proceeds to robotically backtrack to where he came from.

The teen then turns and _runs_ like his life depends on it when Eijirou guesses what he deems is a suitable amount of distance between them.

" No, no, no, no, no, I can't go back there! I've caught the five-meter-instant-killing disease! " The young Kirishima raises a brow at the weird choice of words.

" Shishishi your lies really never get old! " A straw hat appears in Eijirou's sight, then followed by a nest of black hair and a face showing that grin Eijirou knows _all too well._

Ace stops his conversation with Zoro as he looks to the straw hatted teen in silent, but blatantly obvious, happiness and awkwardness.

Luffy turns his eyes to Garp and Zoro, then to Haruta and Eijirou, and finally, they land on Ace. His bright smile freezing as he takes in Ace. Eyes roaming up and down the freckled teen's body repeatedly - as if his mind is unable to believe the possibility that Ace is _alive -_ and that's when the waterworks kick in.

The young teen's tears flow down his face but he doesn't say or do anything, as if waiting for the older one to say something first, to see if what he's seeing _really is real_ or has his eyes been playing a trick on him this whole time.

It's as if there's an unspoken rule between the group of misfits, both the group with Luffy and the group with Ace say nothing, watching with careful and worried eyes as they watch the interaction between the two ravens unfold.

Luffy's silent crying quickly turns into snoft sniffles, and Ace can't help but take a deep, yet shaky, breath in as he prepares himself, " Hi, Luffy. " It's just two words, but those two words feel like they weigh the world to Ace as he looks into his baby brother's eyes.

It's the first two words he's said to Luffy after his _...departure_.

He doesn't even get to breathe out fully as a rubbery body _slams_ into him at full force, rubbery limbs wrapping around his body multiple times as Luffy sobs out loudly, " _AAAAAAAAACCCE!!!_ " 

He tries to hide the tears, but it isn't much use when he _feels_ and _hears_ the heartbeat belonging to Luffy. It's been a _really long time_ since they've seen each other and Ace can't help the big, fat tears that roll down his cheeks, patting his baby brother reassuringly on the back as he mumbles out words only Luffy can understand, " _I'm here, and I'm not going to die again. "_

\---

The two brothers are inseparable after that, Eijirou can't help but take a picture of the two secretly. It's _definitely_ going into the album dedicated _specifically_ for Ace. And Ace does _not_ know a thing about it.

Moving on, the group of misfits (and quite frankly, weirdos,) decide to take a sit in an abandoned cafe and talk things out. 

They're seated in a circle, Luffy clinging to Ace like a koala with red and puffy eyes from all the crying and Ace acting like there isn't an extra human on him at all, eating a serving of spaghetti he got from his backpack. 

Eijirou's sitting on the right side of the two while Zoro's sitting on the left side of them, having a silent war with the curly brow blond who's smoking a cigarette and he's pretty sure the blond's underage smoking but _eh_ , what does he know? His life is already weird enough as it is, adding a curly brow smoker and moss head swordsman having an internal war with each other will just make it more interesting.

Garp's seat is opposite theirs so he's looking at them face to face, and the...reindeer (?) is shaking in his seat next to the Pro-hero, the long nose one doing the same with his seat of the the other side of Garp's. 

The woman with waist length orange wavy hair does nothing but stares unimpressed at the long nosed teen. The slightly older woman with straight black hair uncaring of the situation, too occupied reading her book on history.

There's a really bulky and Cyborg looking guy tinkering with some things in his seat next to the raven haired female, also seeming uncaring of his shaking comrades. 

Next to the Cyborg looking guy, there's a really _weird_ guy with an afro making skeleton jokes any chance he gets and Eijirou does _not_ want to find out the reason why he says them. Really, his sanity might just snap one day if he's not careful.

The curly eyebrow blond is seated next to the ~~Tanuki~~ reindeer glaring very obviously at the moss head opposite him.

Haruta already seems resigned to his fate and is just sharpening his swords, possibly ready to fight his way out of here.

And despite their heartfelt reunion, Eijirou sees form the corner of his eyes, a rubbery hand sneaking it's way to the flap of Ace's bag. It manages to get the flap open, but is unable to go farther with it's sneakiness as Ace smacks Luffy on the head, glowering, " Don't even _think_ about it, you already have your own food. " 

Eijirou doesn't need to be told twice where Luffy's stash of food is. Why? Simple really, it's because the bag carrying his stash of food is literally _three times_ Luffy's size. 

_How does the food even stay in?_

It's a question Eijirou doesn't really want answered.

Ever.

" So, who's gonna tell me why red head's here? " Zoro, ever the observant one, ( ~~wait a minute, his eyes have been closed ever since they sat down, wasn't he taking a nap?! )~~ points out the oddball in the group whom is Eijirou.

And he isn't wrong, Eijirou's the only one in this circle who's _not_ from their world of pirates.

Luffy tilts his head curiously at him, pinky finger picking at his nose as he looks at Eijirou unblinkingly and says _nothing._

Completely ignoring Luffy picking his nose right in his face, Ace lets a proud smile pull at his lips, bringing Eijirou in by his shoulders as he proudly introduces his twin to the weird group of pirates and marine.

" This, is my twin brother Kirishima Eijirou. " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS,
> 
> YOU DONT KNOW HOW STRESSED I WAS TRYING TO GET THIS CHAPTER OUT IN TIME ON CHRISTMAS DAY. I HATE GIVING MYSLEF UNNECESSARY STRESS 🤠


	24. Adding more trouble to the equation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because the trouble now isn't just enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao, heres the chapter I was planning to post for the new year but got caught up in stuff so I couldn't post it, whatever it can be the late new year's chapter 😺

" _Oh, so I have four grandsons now. "_ Garp takes the information in stride, getting up from his seat ever so slowly as Ace and Luffy are the first to recognise the meaning in those words.

  
  
" Wait, _four- "_ Eijirou wants to ask Garp why that specific number of grandsons but doesn't get a chance when he's literally _dragged_ out of the abandoned shop by the arm.

The culprit being Ace.

  
  
" DON'T ASK, JUST RUN. " The young Kirishima turns his attention to Ace, then to Luffy who he now notices is no longer clinging to Ace like a koala and is now running beside the older Kirishima, their facing looking like their lives solely depend on running away.  
  


_BOOM BOOM BOOM_

Eijirou doesn't even look back when the explosions happen, all he knows is that if Ace and Luffy are running then so should he.

Cause if the two D's with little to no self-saving instincts are running away, it most _definitely_ means something.

_BOOM CRASH CRASH BOOM BOOM_

As the sound of destruction follows them closely, the three collectively speed up, running as far as they can from the horror of Moneky D. Garp.

\---

While the three teens are being 'trained' by Garp, the straw hat pirates along with Haruta, are still at the shop, wondering if they should do something or not.

Three minutes into their debate and a shrill cry of pain comes from ahead. Who the sound comes from is unknown, but that's not really important at the moment.

" You know what, they'll be fine. " Ussop resolutely decides, nodding to himself as he heads back to his seat and fiddles with his sling shot.

" So when did you guys regain your memories? " Haruta asks, placing his sword to the side as he determines his death isn't going to happen in the near future.

" I regained mine when I was three. " Nami says, closing the broken door of the shop in an attempt to shut out the sounds of suffering from the three brothers.

" Mine came to me when I was four. " Franky adds, the rest of the crew answers are the same, either regaining their memory at the age of three or four. Chopper being the only one to regain his at five.

" And you were all overseas? " Haruta questions, " Nope, we weren't. " Sanji answers, blowing a puff of smoke into the air.

" But Luffy was. " Zoro supplies, which makes Haruta give an odd look at that.

Nami helpfully answers the unvoiced question.

" After he got back his memories, he never stayed in one place for a long period of time, always moving from country to country whenever he can. " That makes sense, " Garp had no choice but to move out of Japan and to America because Luffy had his attention caught by _something_. " 

Haruta wants to question further, but when the entrance door slams open to make way for three battered bodies to stumble their way in, their attention shifts away.

" Gahahaha, just like the good old times! " The old demon laughs full of joy as he walks into the shop right after his three ~~victims~~ grandsons.

Luffy's ~~enjoying~~ getting a piggyback ride by Ace and Eijirou's being carried like a sack of potatoes under one of Ace's arms. He looks like he's been through hell out of the three of them. Once they've entered the shop and are near a wall, he drops the two unceremoniously on the floor and huffs out a breath. 

" ' _Just like old times', my ass_. " Ace grumbles under his breath, sliding against a wall to sit on the floor with his back against it, he grabs his backpack and digs through it, finally managing to take out his mini first aid kit.

Garp takes a sit a little ways away from the three teenagers, happily eating his rice crackers as he watches his grandsons converse with each other.

" Luffy, come here, I know you got a bad cut on your arm. You too Eijirou, don't think I don't see your forehead bleeding. " Ace calls for them to sit in front of him which the two listen to and are now facing him. Luffy on the left, and Eijirou on the right.

" What's that? " Luffy asks, his head tiltled to the side slightly as he watches Ace unscrew the cap off a small container.

" The thing I used to put on you whenever you got injured back on the mountain. " He answers, " Ah. " Luffy says, sitting as still as he can as his big brother applies the salve to his bleeding wound. 

" Let me help. " Chopper offers, Ace doesn't deny the offered help and hands the bandages over to the reindeer happily. 

As Chopper's wrapping Luffy's wound with the bandage, Ace moves on to Eijirou's injury, his hands pressing as gently as can. And considering the fact that he's not the most gentle person around, he'd say he's doing not a bad job at it.

Haruta silently moves to the freckled teen's side, still uncomfortable with the fact that Garp's in the same room with them. 

Garp's a shadow that haunts every and all pirates no matter what he does or where he is.

It's an impressive yet ridiculously scary feat.

" Stop moving, Luffy! I can't wrap the bandages properly if you don't stay still! " Chopper scolds chopping Luffy on the head, and Luffy, the little hellion that he is, _laughs_ at the scolding.

" Sorry Chopper! But I can't help it, I'm hungry! " He rubs his stomach as it yells out it's presence with a loud, whale like, grumble.

A soft giggle can be heard from Robin, even if she's reading her book about languages. 

" Here you go, Luffy. " Robin says, and an arm appears on the straw hatted boy's bag, it opens the flap and takes out a ~~wooden~~ ~~crate~~ Bento box, and passes it to Luffy who celebrates by happily shouting out, "Robin's the best!" takes the Bento box and happily opens the lid.

Eijirou finds the entire exchange, in a word, _adorable ~~(?)~~_ _Yah_ , that's the best he's got to sum up the whole thing. 

Eventually, Chopper finishes wrapping up Luffy and proceeds to bandage Eijirou's head. Ace, having forgotten about his injuries, has taken the liberty to snack on a slice of pizza. 

Haruta smacks him on the head with the handle of his sword, irritated that the freckled teen can actually _forget_ that he's _bleeding_ on both his arms and legs.

Luffy attempts to help, but fails _miserably_ when the salve goes on everywhere but Ace's wounds. Chopper immediately takes over ~~making Luffy pout and go back to his food~~ once he's done with tending to Eijirou, and _boy_ is Ace grateful for that.

It's a peaceful five minutes of silence that befalls the group. Luffy happily eating his food without a care in the world, the straw hat crew doing their own things while the silence is still there, Ace getting struck by narcolapsey and is now leaning back against the wall, snoring away peacefully.

Eijirou figures that he likes this kind of peaceful times.

" Ah, before I forget, Luffy's going to UA with you. " Garp half-caringly announces right when Ace wakes up.

And there goes the peace.

" No! I'm not going to go to that stuffy, boring place! " _Ouch_ , a school well known for producing heroes gets called _boring_ by **_Luffy_** of all people, must really be some kind of record to break.

" It's either you go to UA or I'll leave you with Sengoku. " Luffy makes a face, a very _unhappy_ face, at the two choices he gets.

" Wait, I thought Sengoku hates Luffy's guts. " Haruta questions, looking very much confused on why Garp would entrust his grandson with the afro wearing ~~old~~ man.

" Oh, He still hates Luffy's guts alright. " Sanji helpfully says, " But he and Garp have a bet going on that involves him _not_ killing Garp's grandsons. " 

" What did he bet on then? " Haruta asks, curious to what the buddha-resembling afro headed old man could possibly want. 

" Garp's entire stash of Rice crackers. " The man of the topic huffs out his chest at that, clearly grumpy at the fact his rice cracker stash is on the line.

Does Eijirou want to know the reason for the bet? No, no he does not. And he figures that as long as he's far away from that, his sanity will stay with him for a longer period of time. 

No one questions the odd timing of Luffy's transfer into UA. But to be fair, they've done _a lot_ of weirder and much crazier stuff. So this might just be on the scale of less weirder things they've done. 

\---

Three hours and _a lot_ of evading of multiple police cars later, the band of pirates and hero-in-making student have safely reached the Kirishima house.

Garp's having a heck of a time explaining to Nanako and Yuri their two kids coming home bandaged and their sudden, and very much unexpected visit. 

Safe to say he'll have his hands full explaining Luffy staying over at their place until the Moneky family can get a house of their own, no doubt it'll take some time with all that's going on right now, but hey, can't be worse than having the entire straw hat crew staying over as well, right? Eh.

_Sniff sniff_

" Meaaaaat! " Luffy exclaims, unwinding himself from Ace and running to the kitchen where the smell of food is coming from. Ace and Luffy then proceed to have a fight about who gets what when Luffy takes one too many chicken legs.

And with a remark casually thrown by Zoro about something that in no way shape or form involves the two fighting, Sanji takes offense to it one way or another and the two are now in a brawl with each other, In the dining room too.

The usual really. 

And when Zoro crashes into the living room table making everything fly into the air, Nami loses her cool and wacks them on their heads for being a public nuisance to Nanako, Yuki, and Eijirou.

Ace doesn't count cause he's part of the nuisance. 

" I'll just take that as my queue to leave. Marco and the others need to know what they've missed while we were gone. " Haruta says, slowly backing away to the exit with the sound of fighting and arguing still going on in the background. 

" What _have_ you guys been doing? " Eijirou asks, joining the swordsman at the doorway, which is really the safest place to avoid the mess that's going on inside at the moment, " A mission. " Haruta's eyes travel to Ace who's dodging a rubbery arm shot at him from the kitchen.

The two don't say anything much after that, Eijirou somehow understanding that the mission involves Ace's safety, one way or another, and Haruta happy to see Ace so lively and energetic with his own two eyes. It's been a really long time since he's seen that specific look of happiness in Ace's eyes. Far too long.

And as Ace throws Luffy in the direction of the door for shits and giggles - making Eijirou squawk at the suddenness of it, Haruta hurriedly leaves the premises in the shadows of the night. 

When the rest of the straw hat crew and Garp have _finally_ left the house ~~Garp's no doubt paying for the damages~~ Nanako, Yuki, and Eijirou head to bed _exhausted._

~~The little shits~~ Ace and Luffy decide to bunk together just like old times, partly because Luffy won't separate his rubbery body from Ace and Ace, for the other part, can't say _no_ when Luffy's being stubborn as heck ~~Except when it concerns joining his pirate crew, that's a different matter.~~

Oh, the woes of a big brother. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated birthday to Ace! 🤠
> 
> He has two birthdays now (kinda) but y'know, why not celebrate both 😀


	25. Love, fire, and Sanity Questioned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UA is going to be needing a therapist soon if Ace and Luffy are to stay

Now, with the new day, comes a new school day. The bright and fresh morning usually motivates a good eighty percent of the human population who have regular sleep hours, and gets them up and out of bed. 

Ace, is never one for mornings. Especially when Luffy's around causing mayhem wherever he goes. He's too old for that, and with the sound of horrified shouting and demonic laughter going on outside his room, Ace mentally figures that, " _Eijirou can take care of things while I get five more minutes of sleep_ " 

Hey, as long as his two younger brothers are alive and jumping around, everything's fine.

Though Nanako doesn't think the same, " ACE! " 

He let's out a unhappy groan, shifting his pillow from under his head so it covers his face. The muffled sounds from outside becoming just slightly muted noises in the background which makes him let out a happy sigh in turn. 

" YOU'RE LATE FOR SCHOOL. " Ah, so that explains the shouting. Also, " I'M UP. " If that ain't a wake up call, than Ace doesnt know what is.

He runs about his room, his sleepiness gone in an instant as if it was thrown out a window. He grabs his trusty hat and throws on all the necessary clothes, he contemplates on grabbing a new shirt but wrinkles his nose in distaste as he puts it on anyway. The nagging from Nanako and Aizawa he'll get for not wearing it convincing him very well.

" Morning! " He greets Nanako and Yuki as he enters the kitchen, swiping his backpack and deftly swinging it across his shoulders. He grabs a loaf of bread and heads straight to the door, trying to avoid the ire of Nanako as much as he can.

" I'm off! " And it's a good thing he's so quick and getting changed and running out of the house, because the surge of power for the Kirishima household is kind of concerning the neighbours nearby witnessing it.

He sighs in relief at the successful attempt to run away. Turning around to begin his walk to school, bread in hand, he freezes in his steps ag the person before him, " Hey. " 

Marco, the pineapple looking hair the same as ever, a hand scratching the back of his neck as the Phoenix looks anywhere but Ace with _very suffocating_ awkwardness.

Days of not seeing each other and "Hey." Is all he says? Don't get Ace wrong, a few days isn't much but disappearing on him because of a problem Ace is the main cause of, is a little offensive to him. It's kind of like indirectly saying that Marco's worried he'll injure himself if he gets directly involved.

Well, Ace _has_ been the main cause of most - if not all - problems since young, and be has been injured a shit ton because of all the fighting, but that isn't important. 

He crosses his arms, brows furrowed together as he continues to look at his boyfriend in suffocating silence. He takes in the shift of his ridiculous boyfriend's legs, either from embarrassment at his brash actions, or nervousness because Ace is scary as heck when mad. 

So now, Ace is faced with two options; Sweep whatever happened under the rug or, _nicely_ ask where the _hell_ has Marco been. Great news, Ace has decided option two, because as Nanako says keeping feelings pent up inside is a bad thing to do.

His head tilted down a little, he makes his voice sound a little stern and says, " So, where have you been? " He raises a furrowed brow, eyes still on Marco as the second in command flinches at his tone of voice.

" Out on missions yoi. " He eventually gets an answer, and Ace inwardly laughs at the slight hint of anger in his eyes, no doubt for Garp. 

His anger slowly decreases the more he looks at Marco's guilt ridden expression, ' _It doesn't suit him._ ' Ace figures the more his eyes remain on the figure in front of him.

But Ace _will_ give credit where it's due, the old man really _does_ give everyone a headache one way or another.

" And you didn't tell me about Gramps because? " At this point, Ace isn't really angry anymore, it's more like he just wants to torment his boyfriend a little longer because why not. 

The hand scratching the base of his neck falls to his side as he let's out a sigh, " You already had a lot on your plate yoi. So I figured you finding out about Garp would just make you even more stressed out. " 

Damn, with words like those, now Ace _really_ can't pretend to be mad anymore, " I'm not mad, not anymore that is. But you, of all pirates, should know that I _hate_ being kept in the dark about things like this. Just - don't do this again, alright? I'm not Pops second in command for nothing, you know? " 

He can see with his own two eyes the way Marco relaxes, the tension leaving him as he hears those words. He nods in understanding and Ace smiles at him.

For a moment, nothing happens, it's just pure, comfortable silence. But then Marco starts walking up to Ace with his hands hidden behind his back and a mischievous glint in his eyes making Ace narrow his eyes at him in slight suspicion. 

" Close your eyes yoi. " It's all Marco says, and Ace shrugs his shoulders in a ' _Okay then_.' sort of way before closing his eyes.

Fully trusting Marco. 

Nothing happens for the first three seconds, and Ace starts to get impatient because of it. In the back of his mind, he realises just how late for school he and Marco are, but the thought flies out the window like a sack of flour the moment something _solid_ touches his neck.

He instinctively _knows_ what this is, the familiar weight of it, the _feel_ of it. It's something that's been with him for a _significant_ part of his pirate life.

" Now, open your eyes yoi. " He hears Marco's voice, soft and gentle, and he can _imagine_ him smiling in his mind.

Ever so slowly, he opens his eyes. The first thing he sees is Marco, who really is smiling softly at him, calm eyes a little hooded as he takes a hold on one of Ace's hand and gives it a soft, gentle squeeze. 

He moves his eyes down to his neck, not really believing what he sees with his eyes. The red beaded necklaces shines in the sun as it hangs around Ace's neck, it's presence making Ace feel all the more _complete_ as he gently holds it the between the fingers of his other hand.

He looks back at Marco, the older one's face showing him a small, yet warm smile as he squeezes the hand - that's in his hold, warmly, " It took me longer than I thought it would, but I finally managed to get the beads for you. "

Words cannot describe the feelings welling up inside Ace. He cannot describe them, but he can express them.

He pulls Marco into a hug, squeezing the life out of him as he conveys all he can to the taller man who hugs him back with just as much - if not more - love. 

They would've have stayed like that forever if it weren't for the fact that they had three minutes left before the school day began. 

\---

Huh. 

Who would've thought that leaving Luffy on his own would have led to the school field and cafeteria catching on fire. 

" **_ACE!_** " If the demonic war cry from Bakugo ain't enough of a warning, than Ace doesn't know what is.

While Eijirou immediately goes and holds Bakugo back from going feral, he explains all that happened while they were on their way to school.

It's a terrible idea to leave Luffy on his own when there's no one with him to make sure nothing goes _horribly wrong_.

To be fair, the two pirates did make it to UA before the start of class, so there's no problem there. The problem, however, lies with the fact that Luffy got hungry and in the process of heading to the mass hall, got into trouble with a student. 

The two went to the field to fight, and it got wrecked _horribly_ before Luffy happily sauntered off to the mass hall in search of food. Now, it wouldn't be so bad if things were left that way since the field gets wrecked by students with above average quirks all the time. But, with Luffy beating up the student who's notorious for having a stick up his ass and has a small crew. Things got a _little_ out of hand. 

While Luffy was happily enjoying the food in the mass hall, the three ~~idiots~~ students showed up and tried to team up and get even with Luffy. 

**Tried**.

May Ace stress the fact that only an _idiot_ would fight someone like Luffy who has _no sense_ of self preservation whatsoever. Picking a fight with him is like picking a fight with a wall that's _never_ going to fall.

In summary, Luffy completely destroyed the five idiots who challenged him and all six of them are now having a talk with principal Nezu. 

Ace, the ever caring big brother he is, sums up the horrifying recount by Bakugo and Eijirou in _five_ words, " So it's the usual then. " 

" THE USUAL?! " Bakugo, ever the feisty one, is the one who takes the new piece of information with _stride,_ and by stride, Ace means the ' _want to throttle someone into oblivion_ ' kind of stride.

" Oh it's the usual alright yoi. " Marco confirms through Ace's demonic laughter by his side. " Do we even wanna know the worst thing he's done? " Eijirou asks, struggling to hold back a impossibly mad Bakugo.

" For your sake yoi? No. " And Ace laughs _harder._

Two minutes in and all the students have finally evacuated the UA building, Luffy happily finding his way to Ace's side, as the two D's watch the fire spread out to the hallways. Bakugo having calmed down enough to not want to pick a fight with Luffy, though he does get a _little_ ticked a the calmness Luffy shows as he and Ace watch the fire rage on.

Todoroki joins them soon after, giving a calm yet small nod of greeting to Luffy which the raven happily returns with a bright smile and a happy, " Yo! " 

With the teaching staff the last batch of people out of the school building, Aizawa sending pointed looks to Ace, Eijirou, Todoroki, Luffy, and Marco (which the pirates blatantly ignore, the hetchromia pretends he doesn't see it, and the only sensible one sheepishly bow his head in apology to) before joining Present mic the firemen finally arrive.

For some _strange_ reason, there's this circle the rest of the students have formed between them, and the pirates that Eijirou does _not_ even question "why" one bit. Bakugo being the only one brave enough, other than Eijirou and Todoroki to have stayed with the group of pirates. 

A fireman, with sky blue hair looking to be around his twenties and who is _ridiculously_ tall, splits off from the fire squadron and heads to the small group of teens, a smile on his face as he walks up to Ace, " Hi Ace! Morning Eijirou! So, you little devil, how did you manage to set things on fire this time? " 

Bakugo gives a _look_ to the Kirishima twins, and Todoroki seems to be contemplating his choice of friends in his mind. Marco's standing behind Ace having the look of " _Makes sense that this kind of thing has happened more than once._ " and Eijirou feels like he should worry for the pirate's sanity, but then again, he _is_ dating Ace, so he _did_ get into the relationship _fully_ knowing what he was getting into.

Students close enough to listen in on the conversation are in the midst of questioning their life choices and why they chose _UA_ of all schools, Ace the **_fire hazard demon_** is close with the _fire department_ of all things. 

**_Why_**.

Ace lets out a laugh, patting the fireman on the arm as a greeting, " It's not me this time Shoyo! Luffy's the one who caused the fire! " He pulls Luffy into a half hug as the other one does the same to Eijirou. 

The two younger brothers greeting the fireman from the uncomfortable hug before being let go.

Shoyo lights up at the information, dramatically turns around and gloatingly points at a colleague not too far away from where they are, " Ha! I knew it! You owe me ramen Ryo! " He laughs heavily as he and Ace high five each other at his colleagues bad luck.

Ryo, a guy somehow _taller_ than Shoyo grunts and messes up his purple hair in frustration, turns his head to glare at Ace as he complains, " Damn it, Ace! I already owe Shoyo lunch, now you've gone and made me owe him dinner! "

" It's not me who made the bet. " That shit eating grin is on Ace's face as he and and Shoyo lean on each others side, " Hey, if I remember right, you two made another bet that if Ryo loses one more bet with Shoyo, he'll be treating the _entire department_? " He says provokingly, pretending to talk with Shoyo, but it does the job.

Ryo stops his work entirely, turns his head and glare knives at the two together.

" _Hehe_ , you've got that right Ace, and we are _so_ eating him broke. " The fireman turns his head to the rest of his colleagues, a smirk on his face as he hollers out, " You hear that guys? Ryo's gonna be treating us _all_ today! " 

The men celebrate whilst putting out the fire, all of them thanking Ace happily to which the freckled teen receives with pride. High fiving those who run past as they send him a greeting as well. There are the occasional good natured hugs here and there, but everything is happening in a very warm atmosphere. 

" What the _fuck_ is happening? " Bakugo questions, watching the firemen and Ace talking in such a way throws him in for a loop. Eijirou stands by his side, and sighs, " This is how it's been for a _long_ time now. Ace and the fire department have basically become an adoptive family from how often they've seen each other through the years. " 

Seeing how calm things are, the rest of class A - in a stroke of insanity - gathers up the courage and walks up to the small group, their interest peaked on the topic of Ace and the fireman.

" Through the _years. "_ Bakugo repeats, " How often were things caught on fire for them to have become so close? " Todoroki asks, a small glimmer of curiosity in his eyes despite his monotonous tone, looking on at the scene of Ace goofing around with the firemen. 

" Often enough that our mothers see them as close, manly relatives and invite them over for dinner whenever they have time in their busy schedule. " Eijirou seems done with life at this point.

" Wait, you said that Ace blew up a construction site where the firemen and policemen found a dinosaur fossil, are these the guys who found it? " Kaminari asks, looking at Eijirou in disbelief as he points at the scene of Ace sitting on Ryo's shoulders as the firemen chases Shoyo arouns with an axe.

" Yup. " 

" They are very unprofessional! " Iida notes, pushing his specs up right as Ryo lands a hit on Shoyo and the latter chases him with Ace now on his shoulders. 

" With Ace involved, everything that happens is normal. " Luffy and Marco nod in agreement at that, both having set up a picnic mat as they watch Ace play with his fire with the the grown firemen.

" I somehow feel like that's a motto your family lives by. " Sero says, sweat dropping as Eijirou nods in agreement at that, " It is, makes things easier for our sanity that way. " 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to wake up in like three hours and I was supposed to sleep four hours ago HAGSJDBAJZ it's fine, I do thid all the time. I now have panda eyebags 🤠
> 
> I wrote this chapter half asleep so theres gonna be some errors, I'll fix them when I feel like the living again, but until then, imma just sleep
> 
> And i have no clue why I wrote Luffy so chill this chapter LMAO I'll try my best to get into his mindset for the next chapter 🤺🤺🤺


	26. Jealousy radiation is strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strong to the point Ace hisses at it

With the fire finally put out, the firemen all bid their farewell to the Kirishima twins and Luffy, dragging Ryo by the collar so he'll abide by his bet and treat them food.

  
With the firetruck slowly leaving, the whispers and mummers from the other students begin. " _It wasn't Kirishima this time?_ " A student whispers to his friend beside him, " _Nah, I'm pretty sure it was the straw hat one who caused the fire_. "

  
" Ah. I'm hungry. " Luffy randomly exclaims, looking down to his stomach, contemplating something before putting down his backpack and taking out a Bento box. Ace dropping down beside Luffy just as he gets hit by narcolapsey like a truck to the face. Marco silently sits beside Ace, making sure the teen doesn't face plant the floor whilst asleep.

  
~~How is the brat _still_ hungry even after having a picnic? ~~

  
One student, with a non too pleased face, voices out his trouble, " Is Kirishima Ace even worth all this trouble? He's already caused the school a lot of damage. I'm surprised he's still in the hero programme at all. " The question sparks a string of agreements that goes around by those who are not in the hero course, they're unhappy, and it doesn't go unnoticed by class 1A. 

  
  
Luffy continues to eat his food, completely unbothered by the words about his brother who's leaning against his shoulder, snoring softly. Marco hands Luffy some water when he swallows too big of a bite and chokes, both teens completely ignoring the words of the others.

  
  
This in turn, only fuels those jealous ones ire, their words turn harsher, and their voices increase in volume.

  
  
The UA staff, having an impromptu meeting, have yet to recognise the slowly rising dissatisfaction of the students.  


" This isn't good. " Midoriya mumbles, concern clear as day on his face when he notices the aggression towards Ace increasing. " Hey, Eijirou... " Kaminari turns to the younger twin, about to say something until Bakugo clicks his tongue _l_ _oudly._

And judging from the way he stands, everyone in class _knows_ he's about to do something that will no doubt draw attention to them.

  
" Bunch of pathetic words from a bunch of useless extras. " The effect is instantaneous in drawing the aggro of those who talked bad, Eijirou can't help the snort that leaves him seeing their offended, and ugly faces. 

  
There is _no doubt_ he's spending too much time with Bakugo.

  
" You're not wrong there. " And of all people, _Todoroki_ _**agrees**_ with him. Going to stand beside the angry pomeranian, deadly heterochromia eyes locked onto the culprits. " HAH? " The student who started the whole thing, a particularly below average looking teen, takes _major offense_ by the words said.

Oh how the class wishes they weren't right just this once.

  
" Ace is a bad influence on Todoroki. " Asui says, straight to the point but with her words are of no ill intent, Sero joins in jokingly, " He's a bad influence in general! "

  
....Well they aren't _wrong_. But it does _wonders_ to someones sanity when they acknowledge many things in life hey don't understand and move on. 

  
The offended, though scared by Bakugo and Todoroki, takes a shaky step forward. And from the looks of how things are going, he's fully intent on trying to start _something_ with the hero course students. 

  
" Students, may we have your attention? " Cementos, the first one to sense that a fight is on the verge of breaking out, breaks away from the staff circle and calls for their attention. His voice firm and unwavering, leaving no room for objections.

  
  
The offending student clicks his tongue in obvious annoyance, but returns to his class nonetheless. The tension is thick and suffocating in the air, the students who agree with the offended student aren't keeping their disdain towards Ace hidden very well.

  
The target of their ire, is completely unaware of it, snoring softly as he leans against Luffy and then is moved to lie against Marco when Luffy can't sit still after having finished his food and runs up to Sero cause his quirk caught his attention.  


  
" This is _so cool!_ " He exclaims, eyes glinting like stars as he pokes and prods Sero's elbows with obvious curiosity, and it's by doing this that Eijirou can _really_ see how Luffy and Ace are brothers.  


  
They really are alike in more ways than one.   


  
Principal Nezu steps up front, clearing his throat with a light cough, he addresses the students, " Outdoor classes will have to be cancelled for the day and unfortunately, there will be no food served in the cafeteria as well. So you will have to settle your own lunches but, it will only be for today. We can assure you that things will resume back to normal tomorrow. " 

Most students aren't happy with the way the teachers handled this, some don't really care, and others are okay with it. And it shows, _oh it shows alright,_ their faces say it all.  
  


A student, unable to take how Ace has been getting away Scott free with things like this, and now as he watches _another one_ get away without facing the consequences, bursts, " Are you going to just let the culprit get away with this? Like the last few times you let Kirishima get away? " 

The question sparks a fire, a fire in the students who were silent moments ago, " That's right! What's the point of the rules when they're constantly broken and never given justice! " 

Ace, one of the two targets of their unhappiness, wakes up with a random jolt, looking around him blearily as the ruckus goes on. 

In the midst of their protests for ~~complete and utter bullshit~~ justice a few hands start to reach for Luffy who's _picking his nose_ while all this is going on, ~~where the heck is his sense of danger~~ intending to drag the younger to the front to face his 'punishment. But they only manage to swipe the air as Sero pulls Luffy behind him. The former worried for the latter, and the latter not really seeming bothered by all this, _not one bit._

Marco, ever the older and more responsible one, just needs to send _a look_ and those going near Ace are sent packing. 

" They sure are sounding like marines right noe, preaching about justice and all that bullshit. " Ace comments, voice at a loud enough level that irks the culprits even more than they already are. 

Luffy, catching those words, laughs jovially in agreement.

Its only when the noise level and boldness of the bunch of students increase do the teachers finally take notice of the ongoing ruckus happening right under their noses. 

Standing next to a 'bothered but-can't-really-do-anything-cause-the-students-aren't-using-their-quirks-and-he'll-get-in-trouble-again-if-he-injures-kids-one-more-time-plus-he's-lazy' Aizawa is Hizashi, face screaming of one part unhappiness and two parts anger, looking like he's finally had enough.

He activates his quirk, sucks in a loud breath, and Aizawa plugs his ears right as Hizashi breathes out.

" _ENOUGH_. " 

It slices through the noise like a sword, making students pause in their tracks just to make sure their ears don't bleed from the sheer volume of that single word.

Luffy, being the one least affected by Hizashi's quirk, makes his merry way back to Ace who's still on the picnic mat with Marco. 

" **You are all students, you do not preach about justice when you yourself know little about it. You do not, under any circumstances, throw one of your own under the bus due to petty jealousy and insecurities. That is not what heroes do, that is what villains do.** " The scolding does a number on their pride, flinching at every word said as time goes by. None of the other heroes step in to intervene because they know Present mic means well.

" It is a heroes duty to ensure the safety and well-being of the civilians. We are _not_ the ones to hand out justice as and when we want. That is the job of the police and lawyers, I do hope you children have understood what you did wrong and will not repeat this again. " Principal Nezu adds, hands behind his back as he walks up to Present mics side, tone light but serious at the same time.

It's only after a series of confirmation from others that the students are dismissed and classes begin. Or try to at least, considering the fact that at least half of the school is burnt black from the fire. 

" Hold up, doesn't Monkey start school tomorrow? " Hizashi questions, " Tomorrow, today, the school would have been burned down either way. Now if only one of them could burn down the villains hideout on accident..." Aizawa heads down into a train of thought that makes some heroes skirt away from him in fear of their lives. Hizashi laughs at that.

In the end, Luffy couldn't attend classes and couldn't meet any of Ace's classmates officially cause he was sent back, but there's still tomorrow!

So everything's alright.

\----

" We've only been gone for a day, how did the school even catch on _fire_? " Izo, ever the composed one, asks as he looks at the charred building of UA from the gates. Thatch makes a low whistle sound at how toasted the building looks. 

" I thought you had your powers under control? " Haruta, Thatch, and Izo had been gone the previous day so they were lucky enough to miss _whatever the heck_ was going on at that time. 

" I do, it's Luffy who set the school on fire. " Ace calmly says, sipping on a smoothie as he walks past the three with Luffy and Eijirou by his side. The former acknowledging the three with a shit eating grin and the latter on his phone texting someone.

Marco gives the three a pat on their shoulder in mild encouragement as he walks past them, traces of exhaustion evident in his eyes from no doubt spending the short morning walking to school with the three brothers.

Haruta blankly answers to no one in particular, " Makes sense. " Izo and Thatch nodding in agreement as they follow the four teens into the school. 

The four whitebeard pirates head for their own classes once they've made sure the three younger ones have already entered the class.

" The school's not going to last longer than a month with Ace and Luffy in it. " Thatch says in the calm silence between them, " I'd say less than that, you've got to remember this is Ace _and_ Luffy we're talking about. " Haruta counters, earning a side glance from Marco.

Either the whitebeard pirates first in command is offended by the statement about his boyfriend, or he agrees with it, but he's too exhausted for the three to get a good read so they'll just say it's the latter. 

" Morning Todoroki! " Ace greets the older teen, to which follows as well, " Yo. " His head pops out from behind Ace's shoulder, unexpected and a smile so full of life that dark shadow hisses from the brightness of it. 

" Morning Ace, Luffy." He looks calmly at the two, not even remotely disturbed by the amount of brightness radiating from the two - in a good way - or maybe he's just really good at hiding his thoughts and everyone else is just horribly bad at it.

Aizawa slides the door open then, looking as dead as ever, " Get in your seats and pay attention, we've got a lot of things to cover before we ship you off to for your internships next week. " 

Luffy, finding that there's no place to plant his butt on, chooses to be a butt and occupies Ace's seat with his brother. And by that, he means nudging his brother in the ribs as violently as he can until he's given _at least_ half the chair for his own butt.

" Right, before I forget. Meet your new classmate, Monkey D. Luffy, he and the Kirishima twins are brothers from what we've been told, _and if it's true, then it's going to be one **heck** of a rough time for the rest of the year_. " And from the glint of mischief the pro-hero catches from Luffy's eyes, he most _definitely_ knows he's right.

Oh, how he wants to be wrong. _Just. This. Once_. 

The budget for the school's already down by a lot from all the damages they've had to repair and or replace. He doesn't want his pay _decreasing_ because of _more_ damages.

A guy needs to eat, alright. Let a guy eat.

On the other hand, sometimes, Todoroki questions his sanity. Other times, he questions his choice in friendship, why? Simple, because he's the one who's sitting bext to Ace and has his eardrums are suffering brain numbing from the simple act of the two brothers arguing.

" Move over, Ace! " Keep in mind, these two D's know _jack shit_ about the word 'whisper'.

" Why should _I_ move over? Go steal someone else's seat! "

" No, I want to sit here cause It's closer to the window! " Aizawa's brow twitches just a _teeny_ bit.

" No! " Eijirou makes the sound decision to act as if he isn't visible and let the two teens continue with their bickering as he folds in on himself.

" Yes! " Luffy crosses his arms and narrow his round eyes at Ace, the latter does the same. Neither throws in the towel until Luffy takes a hold of Ace by the shoulders, and _shakes_ him.

" _Aceeeeeee!_ " 

" Fine! Sit on my desk then! " He frees himself from the shaking, takes Luffy by the arms and _tosses_ him up on top of the desk like he doesn't weigh a thing despite the _thud_ that follows after Luffy's butt makes contact with the surface of the desk.

" I'll need you guys to hand in your forms by the end of today. Keep in mind that the hero agency you choose will be the one you'll learning at for a week, so choose wisely. " Aizawa continues on like what just happened _didn't_ just happen, calmly standing in front of the class as some of the teens hand in their forms for which agency they want to go.

The rest of school is pretty boring after that, a few things getting poked at by a curious Luffy and by the end of the day, Ace has handed in his internship form and is out like a light the second he's in arms reach of Marco.

\---

" Don't use your quirks out on the field without getting permission from the hero, and _do not_ go near any flammable things. " The last heed of warning is no doubt for Ace and Luffy but the two strongly ignore it in favour of admiring the vending machine near the wall.

At the train station, most of the students have already been sent off earlier by Aizawa, leaving only Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki, Eijrou, Ace, and Luffy. In other words, the two innocent ones, two less than innocent - but still innocent - ones, and the two _ridiculously_ hazardous to society ones. 

" They'll be fine, Mama made sure they gave their word on contacting her once they've reached their stop. In any case, the firemen already know to keep an eye out for both of them whenever they can. I just hope that they don't see each other when something's on _fire_. " Eijirou lets out a nervous chuckle at the thought of it, surely his brother isn't that bad, right? 

Luffy, though transferred late, decided to join Ace for his internship because one; he's still clingly around his big brother and does not like to entertain the thought of him ever going away for an indefinite amount of time. And two; he's got nothing better do anyways so, eh. 

Iida and Eijirou are the first to leave the station, then Iida who's more stiff than usual, Midoriya's the next to go, waving goodbye to Ace and Luffy who've been waving goodbye to everyone who's left and are now the only two left on the platform other than Aizawa.

When the two raven heads train arrive at last, Luffy enters the train first while Ace lags behind, looking at Aizawa from over his shoulder as he speaks, " So, as you've probably already guessed, I'm not going to wear a shirt during the whole week - so bye! " 

He doesn't give the teacher a chance to scold him, having already run into the train right as the door closes and cuts off Aizawa mid-word.

The two give the man a cheeky grin as they wave goodbye to him, the train already moving along the tracks and away from Aizawa.

Six hours later.

_BOOM BOOM BOOM_

" RUN YOU BRATS. THIS IS YOUR TRAINING. " In a rather large forest some ways away from civilisation, Ace and Luffy are - at this very moment - _fighting for their lives_. 

" SHIT SHIT SHIT. " Ace curses, leaping over a fallen tree with Luffy right behind him with running with all the speed his small body has.

" AH!!! " They have a very close encounter with a boulder four times the size of them, and boulders have been flying their way _multiple_ times for the past **hour**.

The two of them are pretty sure they've seen the light at the end of the tunnel more than once because of some _very close_ encounters. 

" GAHAHAHA. " The demonic laughter from their grandpa rings throughout the forest, making the animals run in fright, and the brothers pale in fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY FOR MAKING NEZU AND PRESENT MIC SOUND SO PREACHY HAKDHSJVFN I COULDNT HELP IT ONCE I TYPED IT OUT HAHSHS
> 
> AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHY LUFFY STILL SEEMS SO CHILL ✨✨✨ ILL TRY MY BEST TO MAKE HIM MORE LUFFY NEXT CHAPTER HKHKHKUOJ


End file.
